Written in the Stars
by Hinano Kinsuke
Summary: [Reader x Character] The expression 'written in the stars' is defined as: if you believe that something is written in the stars, you believe that it will be made to happen by a force that controls the future. And it is written in the stars that someone will eventually come into your life, seeking for your hand to hold. It is your decision to take it or ignore it. I do not own IE.
1. Chapter 1: Fudou Akio

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Written in the Stars

**Chapter 1: Fudou Akio**

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You were once a midfielder of Teikoku Gakuen and were a reliable partner of your former captain, Kidou Yuuto. You used to bear in mind that your reason to stand along with your other teammates was only because Kidou wanted you to. You were willing to be Kageyama's guinea pig to test some new techniques because you thought that was what Kidou would do.

And when the person who meant the most to you withdrew himself from the team, you, too, thought you had no reasons left to stay, but you succumb to the pleading eyes of your friends, especially Genda and Sakuma, who had gone through the ups and downs of your lives as a soccer players.

You, who wouldn't want to abandon your dearly loved friends, promised that you will stay until the new captain arrives.

Fudou Akio. He was a pest. Heaven knows where Kageyama picked that boy up. Heaven knows if his name was even Fudou Akio. Heaven knows why Genda and Sakuma pledged their loyalty to him. Worse, he wanted the team to use forbidden techniques during the match with Raimon!

That was when you thought, 'Kidou, why did I ever make the decision to stay?'

You clenched your fist tightly, and took a very deep breath. You then walked up to him and stood before him, face-to-face.

"Fudou," you said, "If you want to win, this is not the only way. Koutei Penguin Ichigo strains body muscles and—"

"And you don't want Kidou to lose," he said, glancing sideways. "Snap out of it, woman. Don't drag love into soccer."

"That's not it!"

"I am your captain now. Do as I say or get lost."

You gritted your teeth. Things were getting off-track. You told yourself to stay strong for the sake of your friends but Fudou just wouldn't get off your butt. You knew that he resent you more than anything else, and wanted to throw you out of the team if he could.

For as long as he was your captain, he never passed the ball to you, or even joined forces with you for combo shots. He would rather see the opponent score a point than cooperating with you. Moreover, he wouldn't even look at you when you talked to him! Yes, you did feel offended, but what can you do about it? He hated you to that extent!

_Fine,_ you thought. _I will leave the team. If that is what you want. _

* * *

Ten years later…

**RING! RING! RING! **

Your eyes shot open. You then turned off your alarm clock as you stared out of your window and wondered why on Earth you set your clock to ring that early in the morning.

Was there something important that you had to do?

You remembered that you were on the phone with Kidou last night until heaven knows what time. What did he say to you?

…

"Oh, yes," you said to yourself, "He wants to see me."

So you took a warm bath and got dressed up.

* * *

You parked your car in front of a coffee shop and took a glance at your leather wristwatch which was given to you by Kidou last Christmas. You remembered how you and him stumbled upon each other in the coffee shop. You were about to go out, and he was about to go in. Luckily, he took a step backwards and held the door for you, but he didn't pay you any of his attention as he was fiddling with his mobile phone. You, looking up at him to say 'thank you', immediately recognized him as your long-lost friend, by only the sight of his oversized, green sunglasses which made him look like one of those masked men from Kamen Rider series.

Since then, you exchanged contact numbers with him, and your friendship which died years ago, gradually grew again, and this time, was about to bloom a very beautiful red rose (or in the other word, love). At least, that was how you think things were going between you and Kidou.

** Knock! Knock!**

Oh, it was him! You were lost in your deep thoughts that you did not see him coming. You unlocked your car, and he came in, settling himself on the passenger's seat beside you.

"Sorry," he said, "Been in a meeting with Sakuma and Hibiki."

"You guys are surely serious about the revolution," you said to him, and he chuckled. "So?"

"I have a favor to ask you, (name)."

You frowned upon his reaction. He sounded very serious, so you nodded your head and asked him to tell you what was really running in his mind. After all, you had sworn to yourself that you will do whatever Kidou wants you to, didn't you?

"Well… One of our coaches will be outstation for two weeks, and we need a substitute coach immediately since he will depart on Tuesday."

"That's the day after tomorrow," you murmured under your breath, softly rubbing your chin with your index finger.

"We can't put trainings on hold…" He told you. "So… What do you say?"

"Okay!" You nodded your head approvingly. "It's been a while since I had a job, you know."

"Huh?"

"Got fired a week ago," you told him.

Upon hearing your reaction, he chuckled again.

Yes, you got thrown out of a company because you came to work late more than thrice, and they did not give a damn if your excuse was 'I was stuck in a traffic jam' or 'my car broke down' because your office building was only half a kilometer from your home. Ironic, huh?

Kidou offered to treat you a cup of coffee, but you politely declined because you wanted to be the one to treat him. He laughed, saying that 'what kind of a person I am if I have a jobless person to pay for my food?' Upon hearing him, you pulled your face and sulked.

* * *

The following week, you started your job as a temporary coach for the team that belonged to the guy who had to go outstation. Kids in the team seemed to have hard time to catch up with your style of training, since they were used to the workout that their coach had planned especially for them.

You sensed that something was not right about the plan, since it was uniform to all of the players. Let's say on Monday, they had to do sit-ups… so all of them must complete a few rounds of sit-ups. _Do they have the same talents and weaknesses?_ You thought hard. As far as you know, players' qualities vary, even when they work in the same team, so you decided to change their workout plans.

You observed the team for a few days, analyzed their level of skills and plan their workouts accordingly. You even changed their formation as you thought it would be better if the team worked the way you wanted it to. Some of them argued to maintain their current formation, Coup D'état, which had brought them triumph in several matches but you told them…

"Who's your coach now? I am. So do as I say."

They exchanged glances with each other and eventually adapted themselves to the changes that you had made.

* * *

Six days passed by, and you had fun knowing the boys in the team. They were all extremely skilful… You plan, and they would work everything out for you. It seemed that they also started to like your style of training and your formation, Royal Domain, which you had thought of for a week before you started coaching the team.

And thanks to you, too, the team's performance increased dramatically in just six days! Kidou was so pleased that he promised to take you out for a treat when he had spare time.

"Coach (Name)," Kurosaki called for you, "I have something to ask of you."

"Oh," you said, "Okay, what is it, Kurosaki?"

"The third line of Royal Domain seems weak. They have trouble keeping up with the rest of the teammates."

"Oh, that shouldn't be a problem," you told him. "Hakuryuu is fast and strong at the same time, so he can switch places with…"

**Clap! Clap! Clap! **

"Oh, how clever," you heard someone said. You thought it was one of the boys but when you turned to see who it was, you saw a man you thought you had never seen before.

He was very tall… Even taller than Kidou. He had a weird brown-colored bush as his hair which was tied to the left, and his eyes were of greenish grey kind of color. _Those eyes looked familiar though..._

"I've been away for only a few days, and the temporary coach had my formation replaced. Just how cool is that?" He asked sarcastically and held a few pieces of paper in the air while waving them. "She even changed my workout plans!"

A lot of questions ran in your mind, but you picked only one to solve. Which team had I been coaching since six days ago? You started looking around and saw 'Resistance Japan' written across a green file that the man held in his other arm. _What trouble have I gotten myself into?_

"Coach Fudou!" You heard Yukimura exclaimed. "You said you'll come back in two weeks!"

Fudou? That's only a name for a half-bald-headed boy who pretended that you were invisible.

"Surprised?" He asked, "I thought I had to return earlier than that… Because I was worried something _like this_ would happen."

"Fudou…" You whispered to yourself. "As in Fudou Akio?"

"Yes, that's my name," he said briskly and then dismissed the team without taking your feelings into his consideration. "Practice's over."

You eyed the boys as they left the field and then sighed heavily, settling yourself on the bench. _One day, I got myself a very nice job, but then came a pest…_

"I've always worried that I might see you again," he said, showing his back to you.

"Pardon me?" You frowned, crossing your legs as you supported the weight of your body with both of your arms. You then shook your head, "Don't worry. I won't bother to come back again."

"That's not what I mean," he told you, crossing his arms on his chest. "I hate losing."

_Just what is this guy talking about?_

"I'm not surprised."

"Heh," he glanced at you from the edge of his eyes and walked off to the main exit of the stadium, "You won't understand, (name)."

"Fudou, wait," you said.

He stopped halfway, but didn't turn around to look at you. Even though ten years had already passed by, you still couldn't put up with people who wouldn't look at you when you're talking to them.

"Why won't you look at me, Fudou? Showing your back to me when I'm talking to you is just so rude."

"I told you, (name). I hate losing."

"What do you mean? I don't see anything that you'll lose just by looking at me while I'm talking!" You said, not realizing that you were actually half-yelling. "Fudou, it's all in the past. We've all returned to the right path… Still, why do you hate me so much?"

"I don't," he muttered under his breath, "I've never hated you."

"Then look at me!"

"I can't! I hate losing, (name). I don't want to lose my cool! You're just too beautiful!" he said in a shaky tone of voice, "I'll lose everything I have. My pride as a man; you could've taken it all in a blink of an eye!"

You stood up from the bench, speechless.

"Tell me, (name)… Why should I risk my pride for you when all you think about is Kidou?"

"Fudou…"

"I thought things had changed. After all, I had forgotten about you long enough to overcome this feeling, but when I see your face again—it hurts inside. This feeling that I felt years ago… They've came back to steal away my pride."

You stared at your feet, trying to reminisce those days when you were in Shin Teikoku. Was that really why Fudou avoided eye contacts when he talked to you?

_ "Fudou," you said, "If you want to win, this is not the only way. Koutei Penguin Ichigo strains body muscles and—"_

_"And you don't want Kidou to lose," he said, glancing sideways. "Snap out of it, woman. Don't drag love into soccer."_

Why did you miss those teeny-tiny, teensy-weensy clues?

You were... Fudou's love at first sight!

"Why would God create such a beautiful creature…" he whispered to himself, gritting his teeth as he clenched his fist tighter "…if she is not for me?"

You blinked your eyes once. Twice. Thrice.

_"Fudou, pass the ball to me!" You yelled across the field as your captain, who had the ball in his possession, drew nearer and nearer to you. _

_ He looked at you, but when your (eye color) eyes met his, he froze. The defender of the opposing team seized the chance and took the ball away from your captain. _

_ The opposing team, somehow, managed to score a goal. _

_ "What were you thinking?" You asked him, as you returned to your position. _

_ He didn't answer, or even look at you. _

_As soon as the referee blew the whistle, instead of passing the ball to you, he kicked the ball towards Sakuma. _

It took ten years for you to realize that it wasn't that he did not want to pass the ball to you, or he was willing to see the opponent score goals rather than cooperating with you. You were actually a distraction on the field!

To him, you're too beautiful that he will get stunned just by looking at you. That explains a lot why he never wanted to even look at you! Not to mention those puckered brows everytime Kidou's name slipped out of your mouth!

"Why didn't you tell me?" You asked, as you walked nearer to him.

You carefully took his arm and spun him to face you. For the second time since you met him, you stood face-to-face with Fudou Akio, your former captain in Shin Teikoku who apparently had been masking his true feelings from you with coldness and lies.

"Look at me, Captain," you whispered to him softly as you held his face with both of your cold hands.

He didn't look into your eyes; instead, he stared at the ground, as if it was far more interesting than you were.

"It's okay, look at me."

Slowly... He focused his greenish grey eyes into yours, and without warning, tears streamed down his face and fell on the back of your hand.

Fudou Akio, who had been holding back his pride as a man all these while, lost it in a blink of an eye.

You felt yourself going nearer and nearer and nearer to him until your nose touched his, and gently, you pressed your lips to his.

* * *

**Well? Hehe, I'm new here, so don't be mean. Please tell me if you think my story sucks! Comments are meant to help me move forward, so, please, I need your mercy and wisdom! By the way, I'm still not familiar to how this site works... So, excuse my mistakes. **


	2. Chapter 2: Matatagi Hayato

**Requested by SapphireSpade. Enjoy.  
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Written in the Stars

**Chapter 2: Matatagi Hayato**

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It was getting dark. The sun was ready to set, but you were still pacing back and forth along the street, examining every corner, looking into drains, staring at the ground… Ten minutes of searching, fifteen minutes of searching, half an hour of searching… You still couldn't find the thing you've been looking for. Where was your mobile phone? You were sure you did not drop it somewhere, because if you did, you would've noticed right away.

_Think, (name)… Where did you go after school?_

Yes, you went to the library to return the books you've borrowed last week, but you couldn't have misplaced it there, because as far as you remembered, you didn't take it out of your pocket. After returning the books, you headed to the grocery store to buy a list of things… and your phone rang when you were heading to the cashier while carrying a big, full, basket of veggies.

_"Hello?" You said to the phone as you placed the basket on top of the counter, "Who is this?"_

_ "Seriously, Tomoko. Where the heck are you?" The person on the line yelled, and you had to hold your phone a few inches away from your ear, because she was yapping so loudly she could've ruptured your eardrum. _

_ When she finally stopped shouting, you said to her:_

_ "I think you've got the wrong number."_

_ There was a brief silence, but then the yapping came again. You killed the line and…_

And the cashier told you to pay immediately because there was a long line of queue behind you. You rummaged in your school bag, looking for your purse, and…

Placed your mobile phone on top of the counter.

You remembered two kids were running to and fro while you were handing the cashier the money… and they went to you. You smiled, but didn't pay your attention to them because all you wanted was to go back home and rest. If you take more time in the line, those people behind you were going to start yapping at you, just like the woman on the phone, who was mad at some girl called Tomoko.

You took your things and stormed off, until you realized that you just lost your mobile phone.

…

You left your phone at the grocery store. _Grandma's gonna kill me if she finds out about this…_

Without wasting any more time, you ran to the store as fast as you could and asked the cashier if she saw your mobile phone on the counter as soon as you left the place.

She shook her head.

"No," she said.

Her reaction was brief, but was strong enough to smash your heart to smithereens. _Why do I have to lose my mobile phone, of all things I have?_ You thought hopelessly as you dragged your feet, leaving the store with teary eyes.

On your way back to home, which took like forever, you passed by a particular house you've seen every day when you go and return from school, but somehow, that house suddenly seemed interesting to you. You saw two kids (yes, those two kids you saw running around in the grocery store) in the front porch, one of them fiddling with a mobile phone.

It took a few minutes for you to recognize the phone strap (which was a pink bunny with two furry balls) hanging from the mobile phone in one of the kids' hand.

That kid…

Was holding your phone! You were sure of it! Your phone strap was handmade by yourself, and there were only one bunny and two furry balls phone strap in the whole world! There was no way you could've mistaken!

"Hey!" You said, half-yelling, "That's my phone!"

They looked up at you in unison and ran into their house while babbling some things you couldn't make out.

A few seconds later, a boy your age came out from the half-opened door of their house.

"What do you want?" He asked rudely, as if you came to kidnap those kids (who you supposed were his little brothers) from him.

You wondered what those kids had told their brother…

"I'm so sorry for bothering you, mister," you said, bowing your head low, "But can I get my phone back? I really need it."

He raised his eyebrow high.

"Your phone? Wait there," he said and disappeared behind the door. Not long after, he returned, "My mom said you can come in first."

You, without second thoughts, took off your shoes and entered their house. You scanned around their humble living room and saw some of the wallpapers looked like they were pulled off the wall, and books and color pencils scattered on the hardwood floor. Sitting on the couch, smiling at you _weakly_, was a woman who you supposed was their mother. You were later told that she was terminally ill.

"Did Yuuta and Shun take anything from you, young lady?" She asked you regretfully and coughed. "I'm terribly sorry. I've told my sons not to—"

"It's okay," you told the lady, feeling sympathetic towards her, as you saw those frail, apologetic eyes, "I just—"

_So they are Yuuta and Shun…_

You saw them coming to you with your mobile phone in one of their hands… and they were teary-eyed. The moment you knew it was them who took your phone, you felt like pulling their ears of their heads until they bow down to you and kiss your feet, but now that you knew they couldn't have all of those things you have…

You felt your chest getting tight. Yes, you fell for those four pleading eyes.

You then approached the boys and stroke their hair in a very gentle manner. Yuuta handed you the mobile phone, but you held his hand and smiled.

"It's okay," you told him, "You can keep it."

"We don't need it," their brother said, snapping in out of sudden.

"Take good care of this," you told the boys as you took a glance at his brother from the corner of your eyes.

He seemed so displeased, yet you had no idea why.

After a heartwarming chat with their mother, you had to excuse yourself when you just realized that there were only three hours left before midnight (_how time flies_), and you were not prepared to hear your grandma yapping at you.

_It's freaking late._

So whether you wanted it or not; or whether Yuuta and Shun's brother wanted it or not, he had to walk you home. Yes, Matatagi Hayato made sure you reached your home safely.

* * *

Since then, you started to grow closer and closer to the family you've come to know as the Matatagi family. Since you were doing well financially, you tend to buy anything Yuuta and Shun wanted (including racecars) and showered them with gifts every time you pay them a visit. However, Matatagi Hayato took your good deeds towards his family in a different way…

"I don't know why you're doing this," he told you, "But we don't need your sympathy."

"I just want to help," you insisted, looking straight into his shiny black eyes. "Is that really a bad thing to do?"

"This is my family and I can take care of them myself. Why do you have to poke your nose into _my_ family business?"

You stared at your feet.

"Because…" You said and then paused for a while, as what you were going to say might make you end up crying like a baby, so you thought you should at least take a deep breath and be prepared for the worst situation.

"Because I want to know how it feels to have a family."

You turned away as your chest felt tight it was hard to breathe. You could feel warm tears rolling down your cheeks as you thought about the cruel fate.

Yes, you lost your parents and two younger brothers in an automobile accident when you were only four; when you hardly knew how to count one to ten, when you hardly knew the word _responsibility_ exists.

You knew your guardians as grandpa and grandma, and you wondered why your friends were cared by younger couples, whom they call mother and father. You've always heard how your friends bicker about their brothers and sisters being pain in their butts and how you desperately wish you could experience the pain they were talking about.

When you started middle school, it was your grandpa's turn to be taken away by the angels, and you were left to stay with your grandma who blamed you for bringing bad luck to the family. Sometimes you wondered to yourself: was it really your fault that the accident happened? Was it your fault that grandpa got so old that he had to die?

Those things did not make any sense. You just…

Wanted to be part of a family.

Without knowing it yourself, you sobbed harder and harder, thinking about those burdens life has given you. Why must it be you who had to suffer the world's punishment? Was being born to this cruel world a sin itself?

What demon do you carry?

Will you bring misfortune to Matatagi and his family?

"I'm sorry (name)…" you heard Matatagi whispered, as he put his arms around your small waist. He was so close that you could feel his warm breath on your neck. "I shouldn't have said those things to you. I just… Want to take full responsibility of _our_ family."

_Our family…_

It took a while for your mind to digest those two miraculous words. Your brain sent a type of impulse to the muscles on your cheeks, and you suddenly felt like smiling. You felt like you had no reasons left to cry, because you've already had a family!

That was when you realized every single living thing was destined to lead a happy life every since they were born. It was only the time that matters when that happiness will come knocking on their door with a 'hello'.

You felt bad for blaming fate. You felt bad for blaming this life God had given you, because…

**_It takes both rain and sunshine to make a rainbow._ **Everything happens for a reason. Maybe God took your family away from you, because he wanted you to meet a very special person, who worth the same as your da, your ma, and your brothers. Matatagi… was scheduled to meet you when you lost your phone. _What a twist of fate!_

He kissed your forehead, your cheeks, and your nose. Without doubts, he then pressed his lips against your cold lips. With your fingers in his hair and both of his hands on your waist, you kissed each other passionately without holding anything back. You never knew that this was what you had anticipated. You didn't realize you loved Matatagi more than anything else.

_**In the end, everything's gonna be okay… If it's not okay, then it's not the end.** _

When both of you parted for air, you heard him softly whispering into your ear.

"Will you marry me someday, (name)?"


	3. Chapter 3: Shindou Takuto

**Requested by Shiranai Atsune. Enjoy.  
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Written in the Stars

**Chapter 3: Shindou Takuto**

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**Evening, 31****st ****of October, 20XX, your room.**

Yes! The day you've been waiting for since a few weeks ago had come! It was Halloween and you couldn't wait to attend a Halloween party which was supposed to be held in the rich and famous Shindou Takuto's house. You wanted to look good, so you decided to dress as Cinderella or Snow White but your daddy asked you: "Why would a princess dress up as a princess when she, herself is already a princess?"

You thought hard for a while… And that made sense. You found it hard to argue with your daddy's logic, so you left your parents to decide who you were going to dress up as. When your mother handed you a very cute red skirt and preened your hair with red ribbons, you wondered if she wanted you to be Red Riding Hood, who stupidly mistook the Big Bad Wolf as her grandmother.

_Oh, grandma, what big teeth you have! _You thought, practicing that line in your head.

"Nope," your mother told you, "You are Toire no Hanako-san."

"Toire?" You asked her in bewilderment. You didn't like the idea how 'toire' obviously came from the word 'toilet', but when you looked at your reflection in the mirror, you didn't expect that you'd look cuter than Cinderella or Snow White. Yep, you have an awesome mommy and daddy.

**Author's note: Just in case you've never heard of Hanako-san, she is a spirit of a young girl who haunts (usually) school bathrooms. Source: Japanese urban legend.**

* * *

**Night, 31****st**** of October 20XX, Shindou Takuto's Guest Hall.**

Your friends droned about how cute you looked, and that was something you couldn't deny, because you found yourself looking at your reflection on every shiny surface you saw! You were just too obsessed about yourself.

"Hey, (name)," your best friend said, "I have a great idea!"

You looked at her as you flipped your bangs off your face which was starting to block your sight.

Without telling you what she meant, she pulled you by the arm to Shindou's room on the second floor.

"Hey—I don't think—" You said, as you felt bad for sneaking in someone else's house just like that, but she hushed you with a 'shush'!

"Don't shush me!"

"Come on, (name)," your best friend said, "You've gotta learn to trust me."

She then made you sit in the bathroom, telling you to be ready if Shindou came in. That was when you got her whole idea. Yep, exactly like what you were thinking: she wanted you to role-play as Hanako-san who haunted Shindou's bathroom.

_Right_, you thought as you rolled your eyes. _How should I know when he'll come in?_

"Did you see that make-up he had on his face?" Your friend asked, and you nodded your head.

Shindou dressed up as zombie, and oh god, he looked so hot… (Yep, even as a zombie, your Shindou-san looked hot). Your face reddened just by the sight of him.

"So I'll do something to it," she said, sounding like a mad scientist thinking up of an evil plan. "He'll come to fix his face. You just have to wait here."

You waited and waited and waited… and was about to give up on waiting because no one showed up but you heard the doorknob turning by itself. That meant someone was coming in! So you braced yourself…

The door flung open with a soft creak and Shindou came in, running to the sink while covering his eyes with both of his hands. You could see that his nose was stained by chili sauce, so you supposed your friend spilled something spicy on his face…

Ouch. Your friend was overdoing it.

He wiped his face with a towel and looked into the mirror. Then, from the reflection in the mirror, you saw him widening his eyes at the sight of you who was standing like a statue behind him.

You had no idea of what to say because it all happened so suddenly, so you said…

"Rawr?"

…instead of 'boo!' or 'trick or treat'.

"I mean, sorry," you stuttered as you fidgeted with your fingers, "Trick or treat, mister."

"Oh," he said and then turned around to look at you.

You bowed your head low, expecting him to yell at you or something, but he didn't. He chuckled instead.

"Hanako-san?" he said, smiling. You could've sworn you saw his face reddened, "It's—okay. I won't mind having a cute girl like you in my bathroom."

You blushed and bowed to him.

"I'll be leaving," you said, but he pulled your wrist.

"Can you help me put on my make-up again? I took the whole evening to work on it…" he told you, not realizing that spoiling his make-up was part of the plan.

You pursed your lips, mentally cursing your best friend.

You couldn't help yourself but to agree to help him, because partly, it was your fault after all, for not stopping yourself from getting dragged into your best friend's crazy idea.

You had to do his hair, but it didn't take much of your effort, because all you have to do was ruffle and use up the whole bottle of hairspray on them, but you had hard time putting on the make-ups because… You had to be so close to him in order to see what you were painting on his face clearly, or else you'd be seeing a princess instead of a zombie.

Worse, he kept looking at you while you were at it! You smiled sheepishly and asked him to look at the mirror. He did look at the mirror to examine your masterpiece for a few seconds, and then, he would look at you again. You felt like your cheeks were falling off, but your eyes kept locking themselves in contact with his. You couldn't do anything… because that was what your eyes had always wanted! To look at him. To look at every inch of his face; his diminutive figures; his eyes, his nose and his…

Lips.

You blinked your eyes twice and applied the last layer of face paint on his face. Thanks to you, his make-up was better than the one he did himself.

_Wow_, you thought to yourself. _A new talent was about to emerge! _

"Thank you so much, Hanako," he said and headed to his room door, "Let us enjoy the party then."

You and Shindou spent the rest of the night together.

* * *

**After midnight, 1****st**** of November 20XX, Shindou Takuto's Guest Hall. **

Everyone started to leave, plates piled up so high they could reach the ceiling, and maidservants started to rush here and there, cleaning the guest hall up. Shindou looked sleepy and your eyes felt heavy too, but he didn't want you to go home.

"It was a lot of fun…" he said, as he leaned in closer to your ear, whispering, "Hey, Hanako-san…"

You turned to look at him, and without warning, he pressed his lips against yours, jabbing his tongue into your mouth cavity, licking every inch of it.

You flinched and grabbed his firm shoulders, clenching them tightly. Butterflies fluttered about in your stomach crazily and you wanted to say his name, but it seemed like the butterflies were stuck in your throat.

He circulated his thumb on your cheek as he enjoyed the long, passionate kiss, but you noticed that he was getting out of control, so you pushed him away with both of your hands on his chest.

"Sorry…" He said, panting.

"Don't forget that you're still dressed up as a zombie," you told him, "You're freaking me out, Shindou."

He chuckled softly and said to you, half-whispering.

"Say, Hanako-san…" he smiled seductively, "Do you have a name? If not… Can I call you _mine_?"

That was when you realized that you forgot to introduce yourself to him.

* * *

**So I guess you went back home the next morning.**

**The moment you returned home, you saw your parents waiting at the doorsteps, and they looked as hungry as (lion and lioness?) to hear your explanation.**

**So, how would you explain to them? Tell me how, in your reviews.**


	4. Chapter 4: Kiyama Hiroto

**Ah... I'm so sleepy, but I don't know why I'm still writing.**

**This is requested by Children of Light. Hope you enjoy this piece of work.**

**By the way, I still have two other requests for the following characters:-**

**(i) Kirino Ranmaru**

**(ii) Nagumo Haruya**

**Wait for them~**

* * *

.

Written in the Stars

**Chapter 4: Kiyama Hiroto**

.

You stood by the window of your dormitory, looking up at the black sky as white streaks of lightning tore it apart, followed by a loud, cracking sound. It was the darkest hour of the night, when the whole world seemed to die, but you didn't stifle even a single yawn. Your roommates, too, seemed like they were having hard time trying to get themselves to sleep.

"A typhoon was predicted to hit our school in two days' time," announced Nanako, sounding like a weather forecaster. "This is probably the best time to summon Bloody Mary."

"Shhh! Don't say her name, Nanako!" Kaori said nervously, throwing her pillow to her extremely superstitious roommate.

"Who's Bloody Mary?" You asked absentmindedly, without turning around to see Kaori's face, which was already as white as sheet.

Kaori shot Nanako a 'don't-tell-her' glance. Nanako, ignoring Kaori's word of warning, danced her way to you and leaned her back against the window as she poked your shoulder with her index finger.

"Say, (name)…" She said coaxingly, "Do you want to see the face of your future husband?"

"How's that related to this Bloody Mary girl?" You looked at her, raising both of your eyebrows. "Is this something you made out of your boredom, Nanako?"

"Oh, absolutely not," she said matter-of-factly. "Come on, (name)… I must've piqued your interest somehow!"

"Count me out."

"Well then," she said, igniting a candle with a match, "Kaori, you're coming with me."

"No!" said Kaori, "We have curfews, remember? And it's half-past twelve; the lights are all off!"

"This is, like, only once in a blue moon!" She said, rolling her eyes, "When can you see a blue moon, anyway?"

Kaori covered half of her face with her blanket and whispered to herself quietly, but was clear enough for you to hear. "I hope nothing bad happens…"

"No," Nanako shook her head from one side to the other side. "We're just going to see the faces of our sweethearts earlier than anyone else could."

She pulled Kaori out of her blanket and handed her a hand mirror, pushing her out of the room. Kaori had no choice but to obey. After all, she couldn't let Nanako carry out her stupid plan alone, can she?

"Wait," you said, "You're not going to leave me alone, are you?"

"Bye-bye," you heard Nanako said, before she and Kaori vanished beyond the oaken door of your room that you shared with those two.

There was a complete silence before you heard the swishing and swooshing sound made by the trees when they were blown by the harsh, night wind.

You felt your heart shrunk. The ash tree outside suddenly looked like it was waving its trunk at you when both of them were not around… Not to mention the dark spaces under the beds! _Worse, what if a skeleton leaps out of the closet?_

You pursed your lips, trying to muster your courage…

_Nothing is inside the closet…_

_Nothing is inside the closet…_

_Nothing is—_

Creak.

"Something is inside the closet!" You screamed and ran out of the room, and chased after your roommates who were already standing at the staircase, _waiting for you._

"You changed your mind," Nanako said proudly.

Lightning flashed about followed by a loud boom, making you recoil as you tried to catch your breath.

"Ewwww!" whined Kaori, "I hate thunders! Ewww!"

"Okay, listen up," Nanako said, clearing her throat. "Here are the rules—"

Boom!

"Ewww!" Kaori squealed, covering both of her ears with her palms. "Get on with it, Nanako! I don't want to stay here any longer!"

"Okay, while holding this candle in your right hand…" she said, holding the candle in the air, "and this hand mirror in your left hand… Descend the stairs backwards."

"Backwards?" You asked in bewilderment. "Isn't that a little bit dangerous?"

"It is, but what are the odds?"

"Is that it?"

"No," Nanako said, shaking her head. "You have to chant 'Bloody Mary' for as many times as you could until you reach the floor while you were at it…"

You bit your lips.

"…and don't forget to look into the mirror. Look at it until you see your darlin', but!"

"But?" Kaori asked nervously, as she looked around the dark hall.

"If you see Grimm the Soul Reaper instead of your future husband…"

"Run?"

"No, idiot!" Nanako exclaimed as she pinched Kaori's arm. "If you see the Reaper; that means you're going to die before you get to marry someone."

"That's piece of cake," you said, taking the candle and hand mirror from Nanako. "May I?"

"I was hoping you'd say that…" Nanako said in uncertainty, glancing sideways. "Good luck, anyway."

You stood at the edge of the stairs, facing Nanako and Kaori as you took a deep breath. Slowly, you chanted 'Bloody Mary' as you took the first step down the spiral staircase.

Your friends stood and watched while you kept going and going and going… Yes, you suddenly had this feeling that you were going to see your future husband!

"Good, keep it up!" You heard Nanako said.

You could've sworn that each time you got nearer… and nearer… and nearer to the floor, you saw someone in the mirror, standing behind you, but couldn't make out his face because it was so dark…

…but when lightning flashed about again, the whole place was lit with silver light in a split second, and that was when you saw his face.

It was… It was Mr. Nezu, the grumpy warden!

What the—

Shocked at that terrible sight, you tripped on your own feet and rolled down from the middle to the end of the spiral staircase.

"(Name)!"

"Oh my god, help her!"

* * *

"This is totally unacceptable!" You heard someone said, but your eyelids were too heavy to be lifted up to see who it was.

What was happening? Why did your head feel so… heavy?

You forced yourself to open your eyes, but your sight was blurry… Images swirl and colors merge with each other; they looked just like the masterpieces hanged in an art gallery.

"(Name)!"

You tried to focus your eyes on the person standing in front of you and slowly… You started to regain your sight.

The first thing you saw was the grouchy face of Mr. Nezu, who seemed like he was ready to swallow you in one gulp.

"I've always believed that you, of all students, will—" he said, but then paused when someone patted his shoulder.

_Who is that?_

"Calm down, Mr. Nezu," the male Health Committee Representative said, "She just woke up."

"Well then," he said, "Meet me in my office in three days time. If not—I'll just have to throw inform your parents about this."

"What did I do?" You asked, looking at right leg, which was heavily bandaged. "Why am I wrapped like a mummy?"

"Stop putting on that stupid act," a girl, who you knew as Miyuka, said as she took out a roll of fresh bandage out of a drawer. She then rolled her eyes as she droned about things you didn't understand. You could only make out the word 'drama' and 'freak', but hey… Those two words sounded offending.

Mr. Nezu gave you a warning stare before he left the room. The male Health Committee Representative turned around to face you, and you finally recognized him as Kiyama Hiroto.

"Feeling alright, now?" He asked, sitting on a chair placed beside the bed. "So, did you get to see your… future husband?"

"What?" You asked in confusion and looked up at the ceiling, and heard Nanako's voice in your mind.

_"__Say, (name)…" she said, "Do you want to see the face of your future husband?"_

You looked at Hiroto and blushed.

"I—" You blinked your eyes, pursing your lips. "Is Mr. Nezu really… Going to marry me?"

Hiroto chuckled upon hearing your reaction, seeming that you saw that grumpy warden's face because he was standing behind you but you thought he was your future husband whom Bloody Mary had shown you.

"Hold your head straight!" Miyuka hissed as she unwrapped the loose bandage off your head.

"Not too rough!" You warned, frowning.

_What's her problem?_

"You actually believe in those things?" Miyuka asked sarcastically and wrapped your head with a roll of clean bandage. "I told you to hold your head straight!"

"Miyuka…" you heard Hiroto said.

"I can't!" You shouted at her.

Your head hurt, like, a lot!

"I certainly have no time for this!" Miyuka said, jabbing your head with her finger.

"Ouch! What's your problem?!"

You pushed her away and she pushed you back. Without realizing it, you two started to pull each other's hair. Sort of like… A catfight.

"Hey, hey!" Hiroto said, dragging Miyuka out of the room. "I think you need to have a good rest, Miyuka."

She pulled her face and crossed her arms across her chest.

"It's okay," he said, coaxing her, "I can deal with those bandages."

"Fine, if you say so!"

With that, she tossed her hair and walked away.

Hiroto smiled and waved his hand before going into the room again, to find you crying in the blanket.

"(Name)," he called, pulling the blanket off your face.

"Go away," you said, sobbing quietly.

"Not until you fully recover," he said, smiling sweetly.

You looked at him and felt like punching his face… because your head hurt like there was a Stonehenge on it.

"My head hurts…" You said, wiping your tears off your face.

"Okay. Let me see…"

He leaned in a bit closer and kissed you on your forehead.

"Is it okay now?"

You covered your face with both of your hands as you felt heat rising from your cheeks to your whole face. _What does he think he's doing…?_

"You're so cute," he said, pinching your cheeks. "You know… If only you got on with the chants… I think you'd be seeing me instead of Mr. Nezu."

"What?" You widened your eyes, blushing harder.

He chuckled and wrapped your head with a roll of fresh bandage gently before pinning it. His face was so close to yours that you felt something tingling in your tummy.

You tried to push him away but he wouldn't budge.

He kept looking into your (eye color) eyes… and you suddenly felt some kind of power taking over yourself.

You found yourself going closer and closer to him, and without realizing it yourself, he was all over you, kissing your lips for a few seconds before his kiss trailed down to your neck.

"Hey," you said, putting your arms around his neck. "Have you locked that door?"

* * *

**Wow. That was so sudden, huh? Let's just say Hiroto was seduced by your spellbinding beauty and the smell of your perfume. Heh. **


	5. Chapter 5: Kirino Ranmaru

.

Written in the Stars

**Chapter 5: Kirino Ranmaru**

.

You bit your lips anxiously as you stared at the whiteboard, fiddling with the pencil in your hand. You then sighed heavily, taking a glance at the clock which was mounted low on the wall; the hour hand on the Roman numeral III and the other on VI, showing you that it was already 3:30 in the evening.

_Why on earth,_ you thought, _hasn't the bell ring?_

You've got to be in the Home Economics Laboratory earlier than anyone else! You've got to prove that you were cut out to be the president!

Speaking of which, what were you going to cook today? You rubbed your chin with your index finger as you browsed through the recipes stored neatly in your head. Ground beef, chicken fricassee, meatloaf…

_Hey, isn't it Valentine's Day today?_

…

Yeah. You didn't realize everyone was acting all lovey-dovey because you didn't get a single Valentine's Day wish or presents… But you were not surprised, though. This was your 16th year celebrating Valentine's Day without a sweetheart.

How sad…

…

_Let's forget about it._

You suddenly felt the need to eat something sweet. You pursed your lips and cleared off your table, getting ready to storm off to the Home Economics Laboratory. You've already decided to make something sweet, something creamy, something milky for yourself. What about…

Blueberry muffins with cream cheese frosting?

Yum… The thought of it almost made you drool.

**RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!**

"Oh, yes, it's time!" You chimed excitedly as you half-bouncing half-walking to the laboratory without going to your locker to keep your books first.

After all, one of your catchphrases was, 'When in doubt, go to the cooking club!'

Being there, messing up with ingredients to make up something edible could wipe away your sadness and loneliness. At least that was how you felt when you started to hold a spatula when you were nine.

You took a deep breath and pushed the door of the laboratory, expecting to find your club members preparing to bake sweets or candies for Valentine's Day, but once you entered…

Your jaw dropped as you looked around the empty clubroom. There was only a boy… a pink-haired boy standing by the countertop, whisking a bowl of something which looked like whipped cream.

"Oh, hello," the boy said, pulling his hand off the whisk. He wiped his hands with his handkerchief and smiled at you.

Who was that boy? As far as you remembered… There were only girls in your cooking club. You hadn't received any admission form from a boy so far.

"Are you a new member?" You asked, placing your books on the table which was situated in the middle of the lab.

"New member?" he asked in bewilderment. "Oh, are you talking about the cooking club?"

You nodded your head.

"Oh no," he said. "I'm just…"

"Making something for your girlfriend?"

"Girlfriend?" He chuckled, slightly blushing. "No, I'm trying out some recipes. I haven't decided what to cook for the annual interschool cooking competition."

"The annual interschool cooking competition?" You asked, gritting your teeth. "So, the teacher chose you to represent the school, huh?"

"Uh, yeah," he said, nodding his head before continuing to whisk his batter.

It didn't seem fair. Why didn't they hold a competition between students before choosing one to represent the school? Why did they choose this pink-haired boy instead of you, the president of the cooking club?

"By the way," he said, tilting his head to one side, looking at you over his shoulder, "I'm Kirino. You'll be seeing me around a lot."

You rolled your eyes and put on your apron before arranging the equipments you'd need to bake blueberry muffins with cream cheese frosting.

Firstly, you'd need a large bowl, a whisk, eggs, flour, butter, baking powder and blueberry cordial. You arranged them on top of the table but you had one more thing missing…

A whisk!

You rummaged in the drawer, looking for a whisk, but you only found a wooden ladle…

"That's better than nothing," you heard Kirino said, with a whisk in his hand.

"Hey, give me that!"

"Nu-uh," he said, "I'm using it. See?"

"Why don't you use the hand mixer instead?"

"Hmm…" he pursed his lips, thinking. "It's better this way, I think. I don't want my semifreddo to taste so… Mechanical."

"The same goes to me!" You stomped your foot and pulled your face.

He stopped whisking and looked at you.

"This tiramisu semifreddo is going for an interschool competition," he told you, as if the texture of your muffin was not even half as important as his so-called 'semifreddo'.

_What's a semifreddo, anyway?_

You sighed and used the wooden ladle to mix your batter while he poured the whipped cream into a bowl of eggs and mascarpone cheese.

"Hey," he said. "My stomach's growling. I need to get something to eat."

With that, he left the lab.

You casually nodded your head, but once he vanished from your sight, you went to look into his bowl and sniffed it.

The batter smelled so inviting…

You dipped your finger into the batter and licked it.

_Wow, _you thought, _the taste is so rich!_

You looked around and dipped your finger into the bowl one more time and sucked on it. You couldn't deny that the taste of the batter was just so… Spectacular!

But wait.

_That means the teachers will have no doubts about sending him to the cooking competition!_

You pursed your lips and thought hard.

You then laughed quietly as the word 'sabotage' crossed your mind. You, without further ado, took a jar of salt and added a cup of it into the batter before whisking it slowly.

"Hmmm," you said to yourself. "That's for messing up with (Name)."

Creak.

You turned around and saw Kirino coming in with a bar of chocolate in his mouth.

"That was fast," you said, pretending to wash your hands.

"Someone gave this to me on my way to the cafeteria," he said and took a tray of cake from the fridge and placed it beside the bowl of mascarpone cheese. He then spread the cheese batter gently onto the cake.

You smiled to yourself.

**Knock! Knock!**

You and Kirino turned around to the door and saw Mrs. Daisuke coming in.

"Working hard, Kirino?" she asked, smiling. "Oh, I see. (Name) is helping you out!"

"Eh," he said. "Uh, yes, Mrs. Daisuke."

"Kirino made this," you said, cutting the semifreddo and placed it on a saucer before handing it to Mrs. Daisuke.

"Eh, wait—"

"This looks delightful!" She chimed. "The way you present this… Is just great, Kirino! I love semi-frozen cakes!"

_Oh… So semifreddo is a semi-frozen cake._

You watched Mrs. Daisuke took her very first bite on the cake and you saw her lips puckered as she forced a smile.

"Ki—Kirino," she said, mustering her patience. "Why is this cake… So salty?"

"Eh?"

"Is it (Name) who made this frosting?"

"Excuse me?" You asked, crossing your arms across your chest.

"N—No. It's me, Mrs. Daisuke," Kirino said, bowing his head low. "I don't know why it turned out to be like this. I—"

You could've sworn that you saw steam coming out from your teacher's ears.

"Don't do this again, Kirino!" She said, heading towards the door, "Or else, I'll be sending someone else for the competition!"

**BANG. **She vanished beyond the laboratory door… and you saw Kirino from the corner of your eyes, taking off his apron as he sighed heavily. He then left the laboratory without cleaning up.

_Serve you right, Kirino._

* * *

It was late in the evening when you finished baking, so you decided to take those muffins and eat them once you reach home. While you were passing by the school gate, you saw Kirino and his friend, Shindou, talking to each other.

Kirino looked… Sad.

"I was thinking about giving some of my semifreddo to (Name) for Valentine's Day…" you heard Kirino said. "But—"

"(Name)?" Shindou asked and looked at you, who were standing a few meters behind Kirino. He then looked at his pink-haired friend, "You mean… The president of the cooking club?"

Kirino nodded his head.

"This may sound silly," Kirino said, "But that is actually why I told Mrs. Daisuke to send me for the competition. I want to be inside the lab, alone with her."

"Do you like her?"

Once again, you saw Kirino nodding his head.

"She has a beautiful smile," he said. "Every time she smiles, I feel so warm inside… And I heard that she's a good cook, so I thought—I need to do something to impress her."

"Understandable," his brown-haired friend said approvingly.

"I've always imagined that I will get to taste one of her delicious muffins…"

"You heard that, (Name)?" Shindou looked at you and smiled. "Kirino likes you."

"Eh—what?" You asked as you felt heat crept up your face. "I—"

Kirino widened his eyes as he looked at you. Then he turned away, frowning.

"Shindou, you—" he said. "Why didn't you tell me that (Name) was there? How long has she been listening?"

Shindou shrugged.

Kirino turned to look at you, and you saw his red face.

"(Name), I—"

You took a step backwards… You were too nervous that you couldn't look at his face at all! When he started to come nearer to you, you shot off like a scalded cat.

You didn't turn around to see if Kirino went after you or thought you were just being silly.

"(Name)!" you heard him call, "Wait!"

* * *

Once you reached your house, you felt like dying. You locked the door, then ran into your room and looked into the mirror, realizing how stupid you'd been! You were on the verge of getting your very first Valentine's Day present, but… You've ruined everything!

_Just how stupid I am?!_

You kept blaming yourself, and that was when you heard the doorbell rang again and again, followed by impatient knocks.

"(Name)! Hey, open the door!"

You ignored it and hid yourself quietly in your bedroom. After awhile, the knocking sound stopped and the doorbell could no longer be heard ringing.

This time, you heard something moving just outside your room window. You opened it and saw Kirino, panting as he looked at you.

"Kirino!" You hissed, "Why did you come here? My dad's gonna be here at any minute!"

"(Name), why did you run away?" He asked in desperation. "I love you! Do you hear me?"

"What?"

Before you knew it, you saw your dad's car speeding from the junction. If you wasted another second, your dad will saw Kirino, just outside of your room window, and he'll surely get mad because he didn't want you to date anyone before you turn twenty!

Your heart started to beat fast… Whether you want Kirino to be in your room or not… You need to pull him inside before more troubles come your way!

"Come in! Quick!" You said as you pulled both of his arms. He looked confused, but he climbed up into your room unquestioningly.

He was unexpectedly heavy…

So when he managed to get into your room through the window, he accidentally slipped on the windowpane, falling right onto you.

"Ouch!" You said.

You looked at Kirino and went red in the face, when you realized that your waist was between his knees.

"I'm—sorry," he said.

But you knew he wasn't sorry at all because you could feel his hands trailing from your arms to your cheeks before he pulled you into a French kiss.

It was your… very first kiss.

Yes, and it happened on Valentine's Day.

You pushed him away, but his hands were still on your face so that didn't break the kiss, instead, you were the one who fell onto him. You felt his hands getting off your face… but you then felt a tight hug around your waist.

It was so… Breathtaking.

**Knock! Knock!**

"(Name)," your dad called. "Dinner's ready."

Kirino broke the kiss and looked at you.

"Yes, dad!" you said as you tried to catch your breath. "I'm coming!"

You looked at Kirino and kissed him on his cheeks.

"I'm sorry too," you told him. "I'm sorry for adding salt to your mascarpone cheese cream."

"What?" he asked in bewilderment, and then looked at you angrily before pushing you onto the bed. "You're going to pay for this!"


	6. Chapter 6: Nagumo Haruya

**Personally, I don't really like the fourth chapter (Kiyama Hiroto). It has way too many OCs, the plot is completely messed up and the part where Hiroto appears is too short. I have second thoughts of getting it rewritten and I've tried brainstorming more ideas, but time really envies me, I guess.**

**Oh, and here is the list of requests so far:**

**(i) Ibuki Munemasa**

**(ii) Tsurugi Kyousuke**

**P/S: I do not own Sonnet 18. William Shakespeare does.**

* * *

.

Written in the Stars

**Chapter 6: Nagumo Haruya**

_._

_Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines_

_And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;_

_And every fair from fair sometime declines_

_By chance, or nature's changing cause untrimm'd_

_But thy eternal summer shall not fade_

You blinked your eyes a few times as you read the fifth to the ninth line of Sonnet 18 written on a piece of card that came with a bouquet of red roses. You flipped the card and only saw your name as the recipient but the sender was not stated. This was the third time you've received such cards that came with presents like chocolates or flowers, hinting that the sender was madly in love with you, but wasn't brave enough to express it through verbal communication.

"More presents?" Nagumo asked, snatching the card from you before reading it to the air, "Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines. Hmm, classic."

"I wonder who this guy is," you said to yourself.

"Are you sure the sender's a guy?"

"Nagumo… You're freaking me out."

"What if it's me?"

"What?" You asked, looking at Nagumo as you laughed sarcastically, "You? You hardly know what these lines mean. This guy knows Sonnet 18 by heart… He must be someone like Suzuno."

"Yeah," he said, "Besides, I won't bother to waste my money on someone like you."

"What—Why?"

"Because you're stupid," he said and walked off.

"Hey!" You snarled as you looked at the marble floor where Nagumo had dropped the card.

_ Tulip-baka! What's your problem?_

You were about to kneel and pick up the card, but Suzuno knelt before you, taking the card into his hand as he gave you the sweetest smile you've ever seen since you were born.

"Here it is," he said, putting the card in your hand, "Do you like the flowers, (Name)?"

"Very much. They're beautiful," you said absentmindedly as you looked around for Nagumo.

"They surely are, but not as beautiful you," he said, chuckling.

"Are you the one who sent this, Suzuno?" You asked sheepishly as you felt your face getting warmer, especially on the cheeks.

"Me? No. If it was me, I would've written my name as the sender."

You looked at Suzuno in uncertainty. From the way he asked you if you liked the flowers… It apparently seemed like it was him who sent you those cards and chocolates and roses.

"What?" He asked, noticing that you've been staring at him. You could've sworn you saw his cheeks reddening.

"Nothing," you said, taking your eyes off the boy.

If you had the guts, the word 'nothing' would've been replaced with 'Suzuno, can I kiss you?'

Yes, you couldn't deny that Suzuno had always been your crush. But this time, you felt as if your feelings for him had developed into something new; something deeper; something stronger than just that. Could it be… Love?

Whatever it was, you had to find Nagumo, or else he'd be late for the next class!

* * *

The bell rang, marking the end of the school session for today, but still, you didn't see Nagumo around after he walked off from you during recess right after he said you were stupid.

That brat was rude, wasn't he? He even skipped classes!

You wanted to head home early, but you decided to make another round around the school, just in case luck was on your side that evening, and you'd be able to find him.

But if you don't… You have to walk home alone.

You shook your head, wiping off the thoughts about the dark streets that you had to walk through to reach home as you walked along the corridor, poking your head into the doorway of each homeroom. Why were you doing that?

There were too many reasons why you wanted him to be by your side. Firstly, you wanted him to walk you home. Secondly, you wanted to ask him why he called you stupid. Thirdly…

You took a few steps backwards as you saw a shadow cast on the wall of your homeroom. Someone was in there! Who was it? What was he doing in there at this time when everyone was rushing to go home? Could it be… Nagumo?

You quietly peeked through the half-opened door and saw Suzuno, scribbling something on a small card before attaching it to a furry Teddy bear which was placed on your table. He then took his books into his arms and walked out of the homeroom while smiling to himself.

You widened your eyes and hid yourself against the wall. When you were sure that he was no longer there, you ran into your homeroom and pulled the card that was attached to the brown Teddy bear and read it to yourself:

_Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;_

_Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade_

_When eternal lines to time thou grow'st._

Those were the tenth to the twelfth line of Sonnet 18! That's it! It was Suzuno all along! You knew it!

You squealed excitedly and hugged the Teddy bear tightly. You then tapped its nose while you pretended to kiss it.

"I know," you said, poking it with your index finger, "I love you too, Suzuno. I love you to the moon and back!"

You smiled widely and attached the card back to your furry 'Suzuno' before you turned around and walked to your homeroom door.

That was when you realized that Nagumo, your redhead friend, was standing there to witness everything from the start until the end.

"Nagumo!" You exclaimed, and then cleared your throat while straightening your shirt and your skirt. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough to see you fangirling over my best friend," he said coldly. "I was thinking about walking you home… but it looks like you'll be okay on your own, I guess."

"Wait!" You said when he turned his back to you and walked along the corridor to leave you alone in the homeroom. "Wait, Nagumo!"

_What's up his butt? _

"Nagumo, what's wrong with you?" you asked, chasing after him. "Nagumo!"

"Nagumo, Nagumo, Nagumo," he said. "Can't you say my name the way you've always said his?"

"What?" You asked in bewilderment. "What are you talking about?"

"Why do you like him so much?" he asked without looking at you. "That's one of those things I cannot understand about you, (Name)."

"Why?" you raised both of your eyebrows as you walked side-by-side with your redhead friend, "I don't know… It just happens."

"You're an idiot." He said and walked away from you.

You stopped dead in your pace and watched him as he vanished from your eyes. Did he just call you idiot…? Yes, he did, and you agreed to it. You thought you were an idiot because you couldn't make out what was actually wrong with Nagumo. He must've had one, or two, or three screws loose…

…and you just can't figure out a way to fix them up.

You dragged your feet, passing by the school gate. You hesitated for a while and looked over your shoulder, to the main entrance of the hall, praying that Nagumo will walk up to you and tell you that you'd done something wrong so you can make up for it, but all you saw was dried leaves scattered on the ground, dancing with each other as they got blown by the rough wind.

You felt as if your friendship with Nagumo were just like those leaves – blown away by something you couldn't see.

You sighed as you absentmindedly crossed the empty road with Nagumo's voice echoing in your head again and again and again, making your tears fall down from your eyes.

_ …"Because you're stupid."…_

_ … "You're an idiot."…_

**HONK! HONK!**

You widened your eyes, looking at the car speeding up to you. What should you do? You wanted to get off the road as fast as you could but your current position was completely unfavorable!

You shut your eyes tightly… Getting ready for your departure from this life.

** SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEECH…!**

You felt yourself being pushed by a strong force… but it wasn't that car. It felt like… a pair of hands.

**BANG.**

You opened your eyes, looked at both of your hands… and touched your face. You saw red liquid splattered on your uniform… but you realized the blood wasn't yours.

You looked around and saw the car speeding off. There, on the road, was someone… lying lifelessly in a pool of blood, looking at you hopelessly as he struggled to reach for your hand.

He looked at you with his faint, yellow eyes, trying to say something, but those words sounded as if they were stuck in his throat.

You know those yellow eyes.

"Nagumo…" you said, your hands shaking uncontrollably, trying to get hold of his cold hand. "Nagumo! Can you hear me?"

Passers-by started to crowd around you and him, and you felt a pair of hands pulling you away from the scene.

You could hear the sound of sirens in distant…

…but that was all you could remember, because the one who screamed like a madwoman, trying to get herself away from those policemen were not you.

She was your feelings.

* * *

"(Name)…"

You felt a soft tap on your arm followed by a soft voice whispering your name into your ear, trying to wake you up from that hideous dream (which wasn't actually a dream)… but your eyes felt so heavy.

"(Name), wake up," he said.

Your forced your eyes open and saw your friend, Suzuno, leaning in to you with his hand on your arm.

He smiled as he saw your (eye color) eyes looking into his.

You looked around and found yourself lying on a sofa in a place which looked like a hospital.

"Nagumo!" You exclaimed and ran to find your redhead friend but couldn't find his room. You asked about Nagumo to almost everyone you stumbled upon, but they just gave you stares, as if telling you that you had lost your mind.

But you, indeed, had lost your sanity.

You looked at Suzuno as you felt your tears streaming down your face. He stood up from the sofa and put his arms around your waist, resting his chin on your shoulder.

"It's okay," he said, "You can see him next time. I'm afraid… You're not ready for it."

_Not ready?_

"What do you—mean I'm not," you paused and sobbed, "I'm not ready?"

"Shhh," he said and silenced you with a kiss.

It was warm and soft at the same time, but you didn't feel like it was the best time for sappy scenes, so you pushed him away.

Sure, you liked Suzuno, but...

You just wanted to see Nagumo.

"Anyway, Suzuno," you said, looking away. "Thanks for those presents. And I'm glad that you really care about me."

"Presents? What presents?" he asked in bewilderment, raising his eyebrows so high they could pop off his handsome face.

"Stop pretending," you said. "I saw you in the classroom, with that Teddy bear on my table. I guess… You can take it back. I don't think I want it."

"What?" he asked again, but then he chuckled and leaned his back against the wall, "So you think it was me who gave you those presents?"

"And those lines from Sonnet 18."

Suzuno shook his head and smiled at you.

"I was just told to _send _those presents to you," he said, "And that someone told me that you love Sonnet 18, so I write them down on every card I sent to you on his behalf."

"His behalf…?" You asked, looking up at Suzuno, who now had a tight expression on his face.

"He still has one more present to give to you," he said, "but the day hasn't come yet."

"Are you saying that… He had prepared those presents for me from the start?"

"As if he knows this would happen. The next date will be… On your birthday," Suzuno explained, "And he decided to write his name as the sender after the last two lines of Sonnet 18."

You felt your heart skipped a beat.

Yes, you were an idiot.

* * *

A month later…

You held a box containing a snow globe which you found on top of your table with a small card (like always) attached to it. Written on the card was what you had expected:

_So long as men can breathe or eyes can see_

_ So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. _

_ Happy birthday. _

_ Yours truly,_

_ Nagumo Haruya. _

You pushed the door softly and entered the room without a sound. In front of you, was a red-haired boy, sitting on a bed as he looked outside of the window, observing those dried leaves dancing on the ground as they got blown away by the rough wind.

You smiled. You thanked God for giving you the chance to see him recovering quickly after a month being in a comma state.

"Nagumo," you said, softly giving a tap on his left shoulder to get his attention.

He looked at you and raised his eyebrows.

You felt tears rolling down your cheeks… but this time, they were the tears of joy.

"Nagumo, I love you!" You said, putting your arm around his neck, kissing him on his cheek.

He looked at you in bewilderment and pushed you away from him.

"Who… Are you?" He asked, looking at you from your head to your toe.

"Nagumo?" You said, biting your lips. "Nagumo, it's me, (Name)!"

"(Name)?"

You felt your heart being crushed into tiny particles. _After a painful month of waiting… This is what I get?_

"I'm sorry," you said, looking down. "I—It's better this way, I think…"

You felt his thumb under your eye, wiping off the tears that came out of your eyes and at the same time, you heard him chuckling but you didn't look up to see his face or ask him if he really thought it was the best time to be laughing.

"I'm just kidding, idiot," he said, his laugh getting louder and louder. "Of course I remember you. The first person I remembered after I woke up from my sleep was…"

He looked at the box in your hand and took the card which was attached to it.

"It's your birthday…" he said, looking up into your eyes.

You nodded your head, pouting as you tried to hold back your tears… but you couldn't. They kept coming out!

You jumped onto Nagumo and hugged him tightly.

"I hate you, Nagumo! Why do you like to make me cry?" You said, softly punching him on his shoulders.

"Ouch, ouch," he said, flinching. "Hey, listen! I love you, (Name)."

With that, you stopped hitting him and looked at him straightly in the yellowish eyes. He slowly slipped his hand into your hair and leaned in closer to you until you could feel his warm breath on your lips.

You closed your eyes tightly and felt something warm and soft on the upper part of your lips. In just a second, you got carried away by his kiss… that you felt yourself giving everything you've got to him. His licked your lips, asking for entrance, and you responded by slightly opening your mouth, and your tongue danced along with his.

You've never felt that way before… It was so different from how you felt when Suzuno tried to kiss you. Nagumo and Suzuno were two different people. Suzuno was your crush. Nagumo is your love._  
_

That was when you realized that dried leaves might be dead… and they will eventually be decomposed by several types of microorganisms, but their sacrifice will be very meaningful because… They will be one of the sources of nutrients for young plants to grow healthily.

Just like your friendship wit Nagumo. It might have died after the fight, but it happened because God wanted to grant you a stronger bond between you and him and it's called…

Love.

* * *

**I just looooove reciting Sonnet 18. It's so romantic. (Search on Google for the complete version or it). **

**Anyway, isn't this longer than the other chapters? Probably because of the author's note in the beginning.**

**Hmm… Whatever.**

**Until next time, bye-bye.**


	7. Chapter 7: Shuu

**Actually, this was uploaded under the title 'Forgetfulness' which isn't a part of Written in the Stars series, but I figured out that this story is too short to stand on its own. I decided to merge this into this series instead. **

**By the way, I have a question to ask. Why can't I find Shuu from the list of Inazuma Eleven characters?**

**P/S: Italic words are either your thoughts or flashbacks.**

* * *

_._

Written in the Stars

**Chapter 7: Shuu**

.

_He's out to get me. That boy… He's looking for me! What am I doing? Where should I go? Who's going to save me? My head hurts a lot… Someone save me!_

"Ah!" You shot up from your sleep, which felt like the longest sleep you've ever had. What was that dream about? Who was that boy, who was out to get you? Most importantly, why were you panting? Why were you… drenched in sweat?

It was as if… You were trying to escape from a sort of captivity, but you were not sure what or who you were running away from. You stared at both of your wet palms and started looking around you. It was a freezing cold night, and you were in a large field covered with wild grass and buttercups.

_Where am I…? _You forced your head to remember where you were before you fell deep into your sleep, but no clues popped out. Your mind was absolutely _empty, _as if something or _someone_ had erased everything from the most trivial to the most fundamental memories.

You looked at your feet; they were bare. You stood up and ran to the lake and looked into it to find a very beautiful girl with long hair dressed in plain, white gown. It took you a long time to realize that the girl you saw in the lake was yourself.

_But who's that? Who's that person behind me?_

"Are you lost?" he asked, and you slowly turned around to look at his face. He seemed familiar… but your head couldn't tell you where you did exactly saw him.

He gave you his hand and you unquestioningly took it.

"My name is Shuu," he told you, "And you are?"

"I'm—" you paused for a while as you stood up. That soft, sweet voice you heard… Was that you? "I'm…"

Wait. _What's my name?_

You shook your head from side to side as you realized you couldn't remember anything at all. Should you feel sad about it? You just didn't know how to feel when your mind was completely blank.

"It's okay," he said, smiling dryly.

He took you by the hand and led you onto the top of the cliff where you could see the view of the whole…

Island.

You were on an island. Yes, that's valuable information.

"Shuu…" you called as you tossed strands of your hair off your face. That name slipped out of your lips easily, as if you had said it many times before. "Shuu, do I know you?"

He smiled, but you knew it was fake. Whenever you thought about Shuu, you felt pain in your chest. Every time your eyes met his, you felt some kind of… Sadness… As if he had a very sad story written across his eyes.

You wondered why.

"No," he whispered and kissed your forehead. "You're here to die, (name)."

_Wait, what? Did he just say my name? And I came here to die? What's all this nonsense? I was just born! I am sinless!_

"That is why you're the most gratifying sacrifice for God," he said and pushed you off the cliff.

With the height of the cliff similar to that of the tallest building in the world… You'll probably die.

_._

_"__Kiss me, Shuu," you heard a girl's voice. _

_Who was that?_

_You saw her hugging Shuu's neck with both of her arms, tip-toeing so that she could get to touch Shuu's lips with hers. _

_You saw Shuu's eyes widened. He slightly bent down to do as the girl told him to, but then suddenly pulled himself up again. _

_"__I can't do that," he told the girl._

_"__Shuu…" _

_._

You felt tears stung your eyes. Who was that girl you were seeing in your mind? You looked up in the sky… And you could still see Shuu at the edge of the cliff, looking at you as your body drew nearer and nearer to the ground. You squeezed your eyes shut, praying to God to wipe away those painful images off your head... but more and more appeared out of nowhere, as if telling you stories you didn't want to see or hear.

.

_"__Shuu!" _

_The girl called for him._

_"__Shuu! Wait for me!" _

_You saw a girl in plain, white gown running with bare feet, trying to catch up with Shuu; however, as clumsy as she may be, she tripped on a small rock and fell on the ground, scraping her bare feet and one of her knees. _

_"__Hey!" Shuu exclaimed, as he stopped midway, and ran to the girl, kneeling before her. "Hey, are you okay?" _

_"__No," the girl said, tears started to drop from both of her beautiful, lustrous eyes. "What are you doing? Why do you want to leave me?"_

_He looked into the girl's eyes and froze in place. With the help from the faint light of the silver moon, you saw that the girl, too, was looking into Shuu's eyes. They kept staring at each other for a while before Shuu leaned in a bit closer to kiss the girl on her lips._

_._

Why did your chest hurt? It wasn't because you were close to dying… It wasn't because you couldn't remember anything. You felt sadness, deep, in the bottom of your heart, though you didn't know why you felt that way. What were those images you were seeing? Why did you have to witness them all, breaking your heart to smithereens, even at the verge of death?

.

_"__I love you, (name)," you heard Shuu said, as he pinned the girl on the soft grass. "No matter how much I've tried not to…"_

_The girl looked straightly into his eyes. She put her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her. _

_"__You can do anything you want Shuu," she whispered to him. "I won't mind. I won't mind giving you everything I have."_

_._

Who's that girl? Why did she love Shuu so much, to the extent that she was willing to sell away her dignity as a virgin in exchange for his love? You looked at Shuu, the sight of him getting smaller and smaller… You realized it was him, who you desperately wanted to run away from. It was him, who was out to get you, but… Why?

.

_You saw Shuu making out with the girl, relieving his thirst for her love. They seemed… Madly in love. You had no idea why you had to feel sad about it!  
_

_"__Shuu…" the girl whispered in his ear, "I don't know why, but I can feel that my time with you has come to an end."_

_Shuu's eyes widened as he heard the girl. _

_"__(Name)… Why do you say that? I love you! I won't let you go, no matter what happens!"_

_._

(Name)… Wasn't that the name that Shuu called you just now? In that case… Was the girl who appeared in your mind…

You?

.

_"__You're a liar, Shuu!" You shouted at him, pushing him away from you, as you ran into the woods. "You never love me!"_

_Oddly enough, unlike in the previous images where you witnessed everything as the third person, you were now experiencing everything from the girl in the white gown's point of view. Moreover, it happened straightly after you've realized that she... was actually you._

_"__(Name)!" _

_"__You're using me! What do you think I am?"_

_"__(Name), let me explain!" Shuu said, running after you. _

_"__I'm not some cow you can use to please your God, Shuu. I'm not!" _

_._

Yes, you remembered what happened before you fell into your deep sleep! Yes, Shuu's real intention of shielding you was because he wanted to sacrifice you to his God! You remembered everything now… How he kept blaming himself for the death of his little sister. How he never forgave himself for not being strong enough to protect his sister from being sacrificed… All because of the drought that hit his village a long time ago.

He was feeling so guilty that he lost his mind. He wanted his sister back even if he had to…

Even if he had to sacrifice some other girl's life!

.

_"__I love you, (Name)! It's not like what you thi—"_

_._

Everything went black.

* * *

**Explanation**

.

Shuu's real intention of taking care of you when you mysteriously appeared in God Eden was because he wanted to sacrifice you to his God. He was so obsessed of getting his dead sister back to life that you had to be the victim.

But those things changed.

He had fallen so madly in love with you, and you, too, that you were willing to give away your virginity. He stopped thinking about bringing his sister back to life… because he wanted to live forever with you.

But you misunderstood the situation and thought he was really going to murder you for his God. You tried to break free from his captivity, but you accidentally fell into a chasm and hit your head against large-sized and pointy rocks that you stayed in a comma state for more than a month. Your physical wounds healed in time, but you suffered from a severe memory loss the moment you woke up from your 'sleep', which seemed like the deepest sleep ever.

He was unable to accept the fact that you had forgotten everything about him, including the relationship and the memories of the days you've shared with him. That made him suddenly feel inclined to return to his initial intention of saving you, which is, yes, to exchange your soul with his long-gone sister's.

Shuu also considered you as a pure soul who had never committed sins (because he believed you couldn't tell the God that you lost your virginity because you couldn't remember any details about your life), so he thought you would be the most gratifying sacrifice for his God. His resolve to get his sister back was set ablaze again and he pushed you off the cliff, leaving you to die in the pit.

And yes, in the end of the story, everything went black because you've already died.

.

**End**


	8. Chapter 8: Tsurugi Kyousuke

**Pending request(s):**

**(i) Ibuki Munemasa**

**(ii) Kariya Masaki**

**Sorry, Ibuki! I have to make way for Tsurugi since everyone is demanding for his appearance in this chapter. **

* * *

.

Written in the Stars

**Chapter 8: Tsurugi Kyousuke**

.

You've always liked chocolates. Dark, white, with nuts, with caramel, milky, not milky—you name them. They will always be your favorite sweet because whenever you've acquired the taste of it, you felt as if your doubts flew to the other galaxy, electric flowed through your body, sparks danced in the air, and the world was yours. Yes, you can say that chocolates could give you the pleasure of being alive on Earth. (You couldn't possibly find chocolates on Uranus!)

So, when you saw a piece of bite-sized milk chocolate in silver wrapping on the floor, you immediately recognized it as the one you've always had stored in a jar in your bedroom. You looked around the hall; making sure that no one was passing by to see you acting like a kid, and slowly… You bent down to take the chocolate into your hand. You dusted the chocolate for who knows why, and ripped off the silver wrapping before tossing it into your mouth.

_ Mmmm… Yummy._

You savored the lip smacking taste the chocolate possessed and licked your finger. You cleared your throat and then straightened your uniform before turning around the corner, heading to your locker.

Unexpectedly, you saw another piece of the chocolate, its silver wrapping gleaming in distance. You looked around and ran to it before picking it up. While you were kneeling on the floor, you saw another one, a few meters from you. You, without procrastinating, ran to the chocolate and were about to pick it up to keep it in your pocket…

But you failed to do so when you saw a pair of white shoes that belonged to a person who stood between you and the chocolate, he, you thought, did that on purpose.

You looked up and saw the navy blue-haired boy, who was known to be the bad boy of the school. You got up from your knees and tried to run away, (unfortunately, but yay!) he managed to get hold of your wrist and pulled you closer to him.

"What is it—Tsurugi—sama?" You asked, avoiding your eyes from being in contact with his.

"So (Name)-chan finally fell into my trap," he said. "Never knew things could get this easy-peasy."

_ Ugh, _you thought_, should have known!_

How can Tsurugi turn something so pure, so innocent like these chocolates into something nasty by making them the decoy to draw you into his trap?

"What did I tell (Name)-chan yesterday?"

"You told her to meet Tsurugi-sama here at 3."

"Exactly," he said approvingly, "Yet she didn't show up until 4. I guess she wouldn't be here at all, if it weren't about the chocolates."

"I'm sorry," you said, your lips trembling.

"I'm glad that you are," he said, "Now you're going to make up for it, or else I'll show the whole school… This."

He held his mobile phone in air and you looked at it. Shown on the screen, was a photo grid consisting three photos; one being a photo of you walking in distant, but the lens was focused on the chocolate on the floor. The other being a photo of you picking the chocolate up and the largest one showed that you were popping the chocolate into your mouth.

Your jaw dropped as you scanned through the photo grid. If Tsurugi really shows that photo to the whole school, you might get humiliated, until your cheeks fall off, until your eyes popped out from crying!

"Tsurugi—no, please," you said, begging. "What do you want me to do this time?"

"I want you to do my homework," he said, smiling widely. "They are piling on my desk, waiting for you to come and greet them."

"O—Okay, I'll do whatever you want me to!" you nodded your head again and again. "Just tell me when, Tsurugi."

"Sama. Tsurugi-sama," he corrected. "I'm going home now, and you're coming with me."

"What? I can't possibly—"

He waved his mobile phone in your face and you couldn't do anything but to agree to his decision.

* * *

On your way to Tsurugi's house, both of you walked side-by-side in an awkward silence. You caught him glancing at you twice, but that didn't bother you very much, because you knew that he was only checking on you. There was something else that bugged you a lot, but you couldn't seem to find out what!

You clenched your fist tighter as you thought harder and harder.

"Hey," you heard Tsurugi called.

You opened your eyes and saw him looking at your hand, which was in his tight hold.

So that was why you felt that way!

Tsurugi-sama was holding your hand!

"Yes, Tsurugi-sama," you said obediently, like a slave addressing her master. "Do you need anything?"

"I think Tsurugi-sama is fine," he said to the air. "But I think Kyousuke-sama sounds a lot better. So call me that from now on."

_ He's got to be kidding me, right?_

He wanted you to call him Kyousuke-sama? You felt like screaming, but you composed yourself and nodded your head unquestioningly.

"Yes, Kyousuke-sama."

"Good," he said, putting his arm around your waist.

You looked up at him and he looked at you.

Your heart was thumping so hard, as if it was trying to break free from some sort of imprisonment but it failed to do so under certain circumstances. Tsurugi was really freaking you out!

"Um," you said, clearing your throat. "How far is your house, Kyousuke-sama?"

"Not far," was his reply.

Both of you turned around the corner and stopped in front of a house, which looked normal to you. Tsurugi unlocked the door and pulled you inside before closing it again tightly.

"H—Hello? Good evening." You said, looking around the living room.

"No one's home," he told you. "My brother's in a hospital."

"Oh," you gulped.

That thought of being alone with Kyousuke-sama in a house made chill ran down your spine.

"You can go up first. I'll bring you some juice," he said, pointing at the stairs with his index finger. "By the way, my room is on the left side."

"Uh—do I really need to?"

He shot you a glare, as if telling you 'yes, or else…' And you didn't want to think about what would come out from his mouth after the 'or else'.

"You won't—uh—drug my juice, right?" You asked, fiddling with your fingers.

"What kind of question is that? Is that how you think of me, (Name)-chan?"

"No, no," you shook your head from side to side. "Actually… Yes."

Without waiting for him to give you, who knows what kind of reaction upon hearing you, you ran upstairs, heading to the room which was on the left side of the hall.

You pushed the door open and slowly entered as you scanned the room with a pair of your (could also be night-vision) eyes. There was a single bed in the middle, a cupboard on your right, and a desk on your left. On top of the desk was, like Tsurugi had said earlier, a pile of his pending homework that you were asked, I mean, forced to do.

You sat at the desk and browsed through them and saw a photo slipped out of one of the pages. You picked it up to put it on the desk but you froze in place, as if you were chained to Earth, when you saw that photo.

It was the photo of you, a selfie that you printed out to make a collage of your own photos that you thought you had misplaced in school!

You might have dropped it somewhere and Tsurugi happened to find it! But… why did he keep it?

_Creepy…_

"Crap," you heard Tsurugi said.

He was standing at the door of his room with two glasses of juice in both of his hands, staring at you in awe.

"Tsurugi—Kyousuke-sama…" you said, looking at him as you held the photo in your palm. "Why do you have my photo?"

"What's the odds?" he asked, composing himself as he placed the glasses on the desk. "I have more photos of you stored in my mobile phone."

"That's wrong!" You said, protesting, as you felt heat rising from your cheeks to your whole face.

"Since when is it wrong for a master to have photos of his slave in his phone? It's actually a form of honor."

"That's not the case," you said, blushing hard.

"You know what, (Name)-chan?"

…_to be continued._

* * *

**Here's the update! Beware, Tsurugi's getting creepier. **

* * *

"You know what, (Name)-chan?" He leaned in closer to you, supporting the weight of his body with his arm on the desk as he stood next to where you were sitting. "I've done something worse than just keeping those photos of you."

"W—what? I don't want to know what that is for sure," you said, biting your lips as you solved the first Mathematics question involving matrices that you stumbled upon. At first, the question seemed like a piece of cake for a top student like you, but with Kyousuke-sama standing so close to you…

"Why does it have to be me?" You murmured under your breath as you browsed through your head for the most suitable modus operandi to solve that very first question.

Sure, you were a good girl, one of the main reasons why Tsurugi threw you into slavery, but still… Why you? There were so many girls, weaker, punier and meeker than you were, but instead of torturing them, Tsurugi chose to torture you! Was this another twist of fate… or did you just happen to be there when Tsurugi was choosing someone to be his dog?

"I think it's time I'd let you know something, slave," Tsurugi said, spinning the ball pen in locked in his fingers. "You're not here as my slave because you're adorable, intelligent or something."

You stopped writing and looked at his face. Were you imagining it… or was Tsurugi trembling?

"Actually…" he said, putting down the pen and looked straightly into your eyes. "I've had this kind of dream… Where I woke up in a place that I didn't seem to recognize. That place was dark and foggy and—cold—that my fingers and my nose started to freeze. I had this feeling that I might get frozen to death, but…"

He paused and softly rubbed his chest, as if making sure that his heart was still beating in its place.

"But then came a girl, and she was very beautiful, indeed," he told you, absentmindedly squeezing your left hand. "She saved me from the cold. At first, it all seemed innocent; we were just warming ourselves with each other's body temperature."

You looked at Tsurugi's hand, which was still squeezing yours. It felt cold… as if he'd just jumped out of that dream.

"But I—I lost my control and we… Kind of made love," he said sheepishly, his cheeks turning red.

You felt your cheeks burned out of sudden, as you tried to pull your hand away from his. You did not know why he was telling you about his dream, but he managed to freak you out.

"I—is that what they call—nocturnal emission?" You asked, biting your lower lip.

"I don't know, slave," he said, sighing. "I've had the same dreams thrice or so and the girl who appeared—was you."

You were almost choked on air when you heard him. The girl in his wet dreams was… You?

You buried your face in his books, closing your eyes tightly as you felt your cheeks fell off from your face. You felt so embarrassed you wanted to dig a hole and bury your head in it!  
"I don't know why, you, of all girls I know, would come into my wet dreams," he said. "But because of those dreams—I think—I've fallen so madly in love with you, (Name)-chan."

You clenched your fist tightly. You've always wanted to see your master's soft side… but you didn't expect to see it in this kind of situation!

"I love you," he whispered. "I really do."

You raised your head from the table and looked into his golden eyes. That explained why he was always hot on your heels!

Without warning, Tsurugi pulled your waist and planted a kiss on your lips. You held his firm shoulders tightly as you felt yourself being drifted away in what felt like a breathtaking journey through a beautiful nightmare. You felt a warm sensation on your face, especially around your nose and lips, but you thought it was just a normal reaction from your body.

However, Tsurugi, who was about to snake his tongue into your mouth suddenly shrunk back as he stared at you in awe.

You saw blood dripping from his lips to his chin.

"Your nose's bleeding, slave," he said, wiping off the blood from his mouth with his thumb.

Once again, you felt like your cheeks jumped out of place.

"It—it's your fault!" you said, blaming Tsurugi.

"Mine? Who asked you to appear in my dreams in the first place?"

"Stop it!"

* * *

**And that was actually how you became Tsurugi Kyousuke-sama's official, special girlfriend.**


	9. Chapter 9: Ibuki Munemasa

**Request(s) so far:**

**(i) Kariya Masaki**

**(ii) Kidou Yuuto**

**Hey, guys. I think I'm not taking any requests after Kidou Yuuto, but it's just for a short while, because I find it hard to manage my time, since I'm going for an English Parliamentary Style Debate Competition in March. I'll inform you guys if I'm open for requests again. **

**P/S: Chapter 8: Tsurugi Kyousuke is already updated. Feel free to read and weep. **

* * *

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Written in the Stars

**Chapter 9: Ibuki Munemasa**

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As a result of trainings and exercises, the well-built, tall boy had a solid, lean frame every man could've ever dreamed of. You found yourself staring at those, hot and sexy features of Ibuki Munemasa as he diligently lifted up a box containing piles of your books—new and old—up the stairs to be unpacked in the mini library next to your bedroom. He found yourself gawking at every movement he made, and he smiled as your eyes met his.

Oh, God… He's just so sexy. You couldn't help but feel proud for having a strapping boyfriend like Ibuki.

"What's wrong?" He asked, placing the box on the floor. "You look… Dazed."

"Oh, um," you blinked your eyes and slung a strand of your hair behind your earlobe. "Let's go check the bedroom."

You took his hand into yours and led him to the oaken door, far in the heart of the hall with a spiral staircase leading to the attic next to it. The house you and your family had just moved in had something creepy about it; the details, the decorations; the paintings on the walls; the chandeliers, the curtains and a whole lot of things that looked like they came from Victorian era made the house looked good for a scene from a horror movie.

"The attic's right on top of your room, honey," Ibuki said, looking up the spiral staircase.

Your nose twitched upon hearing your boyfriend's remark. You didn't like how in most horror movies you've watched; the attic had so much unpleasant stories to be told, from maggots and rotten bodies hidden in chests to a hobo chasing after you with a knife.

You unlocked the door to your bedroom and turned the doorknob as you pushed it open to reveal a chamber with a draped, king-sized bed in the middle, a wardrobe room and a fireplace on your left. There was also a desk by the windows which were curtained with elegant, 18th century fabric and painting of a sad, little lady hung low on the Burgundy and Red Heirloom velvet flock wallpapered wall.

"I can't possibly sleep here!" You protested, throwing yourself onto the king-sized bed. It felt so soft that you sunk into it. "Or maybe I can…"

"Honey," your boyfriend called, as he looked up at the ceiling. "I think you'd like to see this."

You jumped off the bed and looked up at the ceiling and much to your surprise, there was a big hole enough to fit two heads through it!

_Wait, that means… _

"That woman in the attic could see me through that hole!" You exclaimed, not realizing what you had said. You felt chill running down your spine and a gust of air brushing at the back of your neck.

"What?" Ibuki chuckled. "What are you saying?"

"I—I don't know," you said, rubbing your arms to recover the goosebumps.

Ibuki held your arms and looked at you.

"Listen, everything's gonna be okay," he said. "It's getting late, so I guess I have to go now."

You pursed your lips and nodded your head although you felt reluctant to let Ibuki go.

"I'll call you," Ibuki told you and kissed you on your lips before vanishing beyond the heavy oaken door of your bedroom.

You threw yourself onto the bed, casually spreading your arms and eventually fell asleep.

* * *

**Creaaaaaak…**

You slowly opened your eyes and saw the shadow plays and the darkness that loomed around you. The grandfather clock that stood tall next to the wooden desk showed that the time was quarter-past midnight, which meant that it had been a few hours since you had fallen asleep.

You sighed as you checked on your mobile phone to see five missed calls from Ibuki and two text messages asking if you were okay, and the answer was no, you were not okay. You were awaken by a soft creaking noise, supposedly made by nasty rats in the attic but you were too afraid to get off your bed to find your parents and tell them that you had a big hole on your ceiling.

What if those rats jumped into your bedroom through that very hole? That could be bad… but it was better than having…

Having…

Having a head peeking out of it, staring at you with its—you gasped for air—it didn't have eyes, or at perhaps it had a pair of them on the back side of its head—but you knew it was staring at you.

You gulped. You realized that the creaking sound wasn't made by those so-called nasty rats… Oh God, you wanted to get off the bed, but you didn't want to be pulled under it by a pair of muddy hands… because you were sure that you heard some creaking sound coming under your bed too…

_The head's still there… Heaven, save me!_

You shut your eyes as you prayed to God. Your heart thumped against your chest, as if it was, too, wanted to jump out of your body and run for its life. You wanted to reach for your mobile phone, but you were shaking like hell, and when you got it in your hold, it slipped out of your sweaty hand and fell right on the floor, just before the dark space under your bed.

"Damn," you cursed, hiding yourself in the thick blanket which smelled like rose.

**Click. Click. Click.**

Were you imagining it… or… Was that the sound of the doorknob of the wardrobe room? Whatever it was, you didn't want to get out of your blanket.

_I won't look, I won't… I won't… I won't… I won't… I won't…_

**Click, click, click, click.**

** Clickclickclickclick!**

"STOP IT!" You yelled, cupping both of your ears.

**BANG!**

* * *

"Darling!" your mother called as she shook your body, trying to wake you up. "Darling, wake up!"

"Ma…" You murmured, adjusting your eyes to the blinding daylight. Realizing that it was your mother, you shot up. "Ma! Where—where am I?"

"Darling," she said, calming you down. "Why are you sleeping here? What—what happened to you?"

You looked around the room and found yourself near the spiral staircase which led to the attic… And there was a bruise on your forehead, right on top of your left eyebrow.

You remembered exactly what happened last night but you didn't know how or when did you come and sleep at the edge of the staircase.

"Ibuki is waiting for you downstairs," your mother told you. "Do you need help or anything?"

"No, ma," you said. "I'm okay… It's just—there's a big hole on my ceiling…"

AND A HEAD PEEKING THROUGH IT AT NIGHT!

"Oh?" she said in bewilderment. "We didn't see it when we came here last time… I will call someone over. You get ready in the meantime, okay? It's not good to keep your guest waiting."

You nodded your head obediently and entered your bedroom hesitantly. It was broad daylight, and the head might have gone somewhere to sleep or something… Still, you couldn't recover yourself from the fear of seeing it again.

It'll be worse if you could see her (or is it him?) now.

You stripped your clothes of your body and took a warm bath before dressing up in your casuals. You wanted to look great when Ibuki's around… but you couldn't. You had eyebags beneath your eyes which made you look like a hag, and the bruise worsened your appearance that morning.

If Ibuki ever said anything about you today, blame it all on the hideous, eyeless head.

You descended the stairs lazily and staggered towards the dining room to find Ibuki and his half-eaten breakfast on the table that you supposed your mother had prepared for him, since you took a very long time just to get ready.

"Been having nightmares?" he asked, as if he could tell that you didn't get a good night's sleep just by looking at your face.

"Worse," you told him.

"Is it about the attic?"

You nodded your head and hugged his neck, resting your head on his firm shoulder.

"Ibuki…" you said, whispering into his ear. "Can you sleep with me tonight?"

He looked at you and chuckled before planting a kiss on your cheek.

"It'll be my pleasure."

You playfully hit his shoulder and took a sip on his drink.

"Milk?" You pursed your lips, frowning. "What are you, a baby?"

"Milk's good," he said, explaining. "Especially for athletes. It contains casein and whey, two proteins that are best for rebuilding muscles."

"Freak," you said as you blew raspberry, and he chuckled at your reaction.

_…to be continued._

* * *

"Freak," you said as you blew raspberry, and he chuckled at your reaction.

"So," he leaned his back against the backrest, breathing in the morning air. "Are you done sorting out your stuffs?"

"No. Not yet. Some things need to be stored in the attic but…"

"But?" Ibuki raised his eyebrows and chuckled as he nodded his head, 'oh-I-get-it'. "Wanna check it out?"

"What?"

"The attic," he said matter-of-factly and you regretted yourself for letting the word 'attic' slipped out of your big mouth. Yes, you and your big mouth.

You grumpily frowned, hoping that your facial expression might be able to let Ibuki know that between snakes and attics, you'd pick snakes, though you've always had serious fear of venomous reptiles. Snakes are creatures you were already familiar with… well, you'd seen them a lot on National Geographic.

What you fear was… The unknown. You didn't know what was that creature living inside the attic. You didn't know if it was actually an eyeless head or simply shadow plays that were casted by the dim moonlight.

"Come on," he smiled coaxingly, taking you by the hand.

You hesitantly dragged your feet as Ibuki led you to the spiral staircase on the second floor, whistling casually as if he was trying to tell you that the attic, or spiders, or bats, or eyeless head was no big deal. Well… At least with your athletic boyfriend around, you wouldn't worry about a fanged monster jumping out of nowhere… Ibuki would surely smack him in the face before he could even land his finger on you.

_ Ah… Ibuki. _You couldn't help but to smile to yourself.

"The door's sealed," he said, examining the wooden door that stood before him. "Or if it isn't… It's locked."

"I hate this house," you said to the air, and Ibuki gave you a dirty look. "What?"

"Ten or twenty years to come, this house's gonna be a historical site," he said, reminding you a lot about your teacher.

"Ten or twenty years to come!" You sighed heavily. "I can hardly stay here for one night! One night, damn it!"

"Did you just swear?"

"Yes, I did!" You stomped your foot and hit the attic door, releasing the tension that was getting to your muscles. You hated the house! You hated everything about it! You wished you could just burn it down!

** Creak. **

The rough wind coming from the unclosed windows blown the attic door open, and you found yourself suddenly jumping back, almost knocked Ibuki off the stairs.

"You said…" you looked at Ibuki, who, too, was as confused as you were. "You said it's locked."

"It was," he said and took his very first step into the dark room beyond the door, scanning every inch of the space, though you were sure he couldn't see anything.

You waited for a second, and thankfully, your eyes finally grew accustomed to the dark that surrounded the gloomy attic. Apart from the baby cradle in the middle of the room, the attic was almost empty… Except for cobwebs hanging out of nowhere.

"Hey, look," Ibuki said, pointing at the hole on the ceiling of your bedroom. "It's not a hole."

"It's a door," you said, poking your head into it, as you scanned your bedroom below you. "So this is actually how she sees me…"

"She? Sees you?"

You looked at Ibuki and held both of his arms.

"Ibuki," you gulped. "This house's haunted. I'm not kidding. This place is haunted by an eyeless head!"

Ibuki's nose twitched as he heard you. He shut the small door on the ceiling and stood up, taking your hand into his. "That is what I shall find out tonight."

"Ibuki… What if the head is hiding somewhere in here? What if she's watching us now?"

"Don't worry," he chuckled. "She's just like me, you know. I'd like to watch you day and night without you noticing where I am."

You pinched his arm and pulled him outside of the attic.

"I don't like where this is going," you said.

* * *

**I guess… I have to make it end here. I'm so sorry! I've taken days to consider what'll happen next… but I can't come up with any idea! Is this what they call writer's block? I don't know. This isn't going anywhere and if I keep on focusing on this story, my other ideas will be blown away by the wind sooner or later. Whatever it is, please forgive me. I'm a new writer, anyway… I hope this won't happen again. I hope you enjoy your interaction with Ibuki, anyways.**


	10. Chapter 10: Kariya Masaki

**Sorry to keep you waiting!**

**This is requested by Lotus Sword.**

**Enjoy… And let me know what you think of this, in your reviews, of course. **

**Thanks!  
Yours never, (lol)**

**Nebula.**

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Written in the Stars

**Chapter 10: Kariya Masaki**

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It was the calmest day of the year, when the mighty Sun wasn't too hot, and the rainfall wasn't too frequent; when the birds fly high in the air, bees buzzing in the trees; when the air smelled like the sweet scent of honey. Butterflies fluttered about, squirrels came out of their hideouts to welcome Spring Equinox after a few months living under the winter sun.

You enjoyed the sight of those happy blooms of tulips and daffodils along your way to school, breathing in the aroma those colorful bulbs emit. Everything was just fine… until you realized the book that you had in your hand disappeared out of sudden. You were so spellbound by the beauty of spring that you hadn't realized that you had dropped the most important thing in the world — your homework assignment — and the dateline was today!

You started to run around, looking at the ground like a mother hen seeking for worms. You headed back to the path that you had walked along before, mentally cursing yourself.

"Looking for something?"

You looked at the boy with teal-colored, shoulder-length hair — Kariya Masaki!

"Kariya!" You exclaimed as you saw your book in his hand. _Why, _you thought, _would it be Kariya_ _to find your book, of all people passing by? _"Give me that!"

"Nu-uh," he shook his head, forming an impish grin on his face. "If you want it—then get it!"

He waved the book high in the air and sprinted towards the school gate and disappeared out of your sight, leaving you on your knees, trying to catch up with your breath. You couldn't possibly catch up with a soccer player like Kariya! The whole school—I mean—everyone here knows that Kariya possesses amazing speed and agility! Even Kirino, your senpai, acknowledged his skills during Holy Road tournament; Raimon's match with Gassan Kunimitsu in the Cyclone Stadium.

"Kariya is such a jerk," you said to yourself, dragging your feet lazily towards your locker. You had lost more than half of your will needed for the day to stand out in school.

"Yo, (Name)-chan!"

You turned to look and saw Kariya at the edge of the corner, with your book still with him. He walked up to you, spreading his arm wide, pretending to hand your belonging to you. Tears stung your eyes, and you felt the muscles on your face contracted, causing your lips to pout and pucker against your will.

"I'm sorry…" he said apologetically as he noticed tears welling in your eyes. "I think I'll give this back to you… NOT!"

He laughed mischievously and walked away. Though he didn't turn around to look at you — you were sure there were thousands of victories written across his face because he just succeeded in making you cry your eyes out, wailing like a baby lost in the school corridor.

"Kariya! You idiot!" You screamed, hitting the cold, marble floor as you fell on your knees. "I want my book back!"

You sobbed in the corner for what felt like an hour. Realized that you were awfully late for class, you headed to you homeroom with facial tissue stuck in your nostrils. The feeling of wanting your book back disappeared in thin air, blown away by a new, feeling of hatred towards Kariya Masaki. There was no debate in your head whether to get the book or kill Kariya, because you knew the answer already. You wanted to kill Kariya if you could.

You stepped your foot into your homeroom, not realizing that another misfortune would befall, because your teacher was collecting homework from your friends — and you couldn't pass yours up because you had just lost it.

He, your teacher, distracted by your sudden entrance, turned around to look at you. Thousands and thousands of questions assembled at the tip of his tongue — and he could shoot them out like torrents of bullets any second from now. If war didn't happen… Perhaps a volcanic eruption would.

"(Name)," he said, fire lighting up in both of his eyes. "You are late."

"I'm sorry, sir. I have certain obligations to deal with."

"You dress improperly," he added. "You know my rules for sure, (Name). I won't let my students enter this homeroom without courtesy."

You looked at yourself and sighed. You were clad in complete school uniform — but you knew what your teacher meant and you understood it yourself. Being unable to dress up neatly means, like your teacher said, you had dressed up improperly.

Even when you knew about it, you couldn't do anything about it. You had tried your best to look good, but some guy came out of nowhere and made you lost your mind, literally making you look like a hag.

"Forgive me, sir," you said, biting your lips.

There was a brief silence as he thought hard. And then, your teacher spoke:

"Very well," he said, clearing his throat. "I will forgive you if you hand in your homework now."

A spear stabbed through your head as you heard him. How could you possibly atone for your mistakes with something you didn't have in your possession? You took a deep breath and decided to come clear about it. After all, honesty is the best policy, ne?

"I'm sorry, sir," you said for what felt like the millionth time that day. "I know I've gone so far against the rules—but I cannot pass up my homework today."

"No excuses!" He yelled as he hit the table with his palm, resulting in a 'bam!' that echoed through the whole homeroom, making your classmates recoiled in dismay. "Negotiating with a student like you is a waste of time—you may stand outside of the class now."

You looked up at him with your pleading eyes, but he looked away and resumed to collect the homework, without taking your feelings into his consideration. You felt your feet dragging themselves out of the homeroom, though, against your will. You could've told your teacher about Kariya's irresponsible action towards you, but you heard him. You heard him said, 'no excuses!' and yeah, he meant what he said.

You shut the homeroom door behind you, looking down at the marble floor. You felt yourself like a complete laughingstock with those eyes looking at you mockingly as they passed by the corridor, whispering into the ears of each other, and eventually giggling in your direction. You felt your vein bulging in your temple each time they did… and when your crush, Shindou Takuto walked by—that was the last straw!

You placed your palms over your face and burst out crying. What would Shindou think of you, now that he saw you standing outside of the class like a moron?

**Swiiish. Swoootch. **

You heard the door of the opposite homeroom being slid opened and then slid closed again. Kariya came out of his homeroom smugly, and stood before the door with your book in his hand. He, just like you, must've been thrown out of the class for being late. _Serve him right_, you thought.

You and him stood face-to-face; however, not a single word was uttered, except for the curses in your head, of course.

"Happy now?" You asked him wryly.

"This is nothing," he said, smirking.

Yup, he was right. Seeing you, crying and suffering from his pranks worth a million times more than that.

You rolled your eyes and turned away from him.

"Don't you want your book back, (Name)-chan?" Kariya asked, waving the book in his hand.

"Of course I do," you said. "But I won't make myself look stupid again."

He took your hand and placed the book on your palm.

"Take this," he said, smiling. "Now get your butt inside the homeroom."

You looked at him in surprise. Was he really Kariya Masaki? _The_ Kariya Masaki? _Of course, idiot,_ you thought to yourself. _Or else he wouldn't have your book… but why?_

You frowned grumpily and entered your homeroom without looking back. You supposed Kariya had grown bored of his own prank, since you declared that you didn't want to make yourself look stupid again. Maybe he had thought of someone else to play his dirty tricks on… Maybe he was aiming for the next target. _Could it be… Kageyama Hikaru?_

Poor kid.

* * *

Two weeks had passed by since Kariya let you burn in your own fire of anger, and you had probably forgotten about that tragedy by then. It's a week of examination… and you thought you shouldn't stress yourself out with those things you shouldn't really think of about.

"Hey, (Name)-chan," the teal-haired boy called. "Good luck with your exam."

"Thanks," you said absentmindedly, flipping the page of your reference book. You were trying so hard to memorize what was written across the page, that you didn't see the disappointment on Kariya's face.

You walked into your homeroom and sit for the Chemistry examination. You felt confident as you went through the questions and due to the hard work you've put into your studies; you could easily pull the exam papers off. While everyone else hit their heads on the table for answers, you told them that the exam was a _plain sailing_.

* * *

**A week later…**

"(Name)!" You teacher belched, waving your Chemistry answer sheet in his hand.

You stood up from your chair proudly, thinking that your teacher would address you as the student who scored a hundred for his subject, but…

"Do you think being the top scorer for Chemistry previously makes this funny to me?" Your teacher snarled angrily, but you didn't have any idea what she was talking about. "Look at this nonsense… (Name)! This isn't funny!"

You took the paper and scanned through it. Almost all questions were answered by the answers that made no sense at all. One of them being:

**Answer the following questions:-**

** (i) Name the monomer for latex.**

_This is too easy. I certainly have no time for questions like this._

** (ii) Draw the structural formula of both monomer and polymer of latex.**

_No, thank you. Drawing isn't my thing. _

You felt your heart skipped a beat, or two beats, or probably a million beats, as you saw those answers written across the paper. You remembered how you did on Chemistry paper a week before… and you knew you've written 'isoprene' and drawn the structural formula on the answering sheet, but what was this that you were holding in your hand?

Was it even your answering sheet?

You looked at the name written on top of the paper once, twice, thrice… The name was none other than yours.

Someone… must've played a prank on you! Someone must've erased your answers and replaced them with doodles and rubbish!

_But, _you thought. _Who could've gone this far? Who could've stolen my paper from the faculty office, erase my answers, write them again with something else, just to play a prank on me?_

Kariya Masaki!

You stormed out of the class, leaving your teacher in confusion and headed to Kariya Masaki's homeroom. Luckily, their teacher was not in, so you pulled him out to the rooftop and let out those things that you kept in your heart for so long.

"Kariya!" You said, half-yelling. "You disgust me!"

He looked at you in surprise.

"What?" he asked, his jaw dropped. "Just because of the book prank I played on you?"

"Stop pretending, Kariya Masaki," you said, jabbing his chest with your index finger, and he recoiled. "Why did you do this to me? Why?"

You shoved your answering sheet in his face, and he took it in his hands.

"What's this?" he asked, scanning your answering sheet.

"Thanks for going this far, Kariya," you snarled. "Now I hate you more than hell!"

"(Name)…" he looked at you, his eyes widened each time you cursed. "You think it's me who did this?"

You took the answering sheet and tore it into pieces. You didn't know what could please you at that time… You felt like jumping off the building, but if you did, you might just get away from Kariya for a while before he could see you again in hell.

"(Name)," he said, his voice shaking. "Whoever this is… but I can swear to you. This isn't me!"

"Liar! You're always a liar! You're the father of all liars!"

"(Name)!" He yelled, clenching his fist tightly. "I know I've done so many bad things to you just to get your attention! I know I'm stupid—doing this to make you notice me, but ended up with you hating me more than—"

**Thud.**

He fell on his knees.

"More than hell…" he said, whispering to himself. "I'm such a fool! I'm sorry (name)—I should've acted more like Shindou—and less like me. That way, maybe you can finally see Kariya Masaki without a single feeling of disgust in your heart."

He wiped the tears that dropped from the edge of his eyes. "This isn't like me," he said. "This isn't like me to cry for something like this."

You looked at him; cat got your tongue.

"Kariya—I…" you reached for his hair to caress it, but hesitated. "D—don't cry. Your parents—won't like it if they know about this."

"My parents are dead!" he snarled.

You stunted. "Kariya… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have accused you out of sudden."

Without warning, he pulled you into a hug and kissed you on your lips, slipping his tongue into your mouth cavity. You felt like dying—but soon, your body grew accustomed to him, and you returned the kiss all the same.

When both of you parted for air, he looked straightly into your eyes.

"I'm the one who should be," he said, smiling wryly. "I've always heard that trust is like a piece of paper. Once it's crumpled, it can never be perfect again."

"Kariya…" you said, touching his face with both of your hands and kissed him again. It didn't happen because you felt sorry for him. It happened because your mind wanted it to be that way. It happened because your body wanted it to be that way.

You wanted yourself to be with Kariya, though your desire for him was far beyond your understanding. He tried so hard to get your attention… and you could say that…

"It's worth it, Kariya. The trouble you've been through to play pranks on me is worth it." You said. "I think… I love you. No, I really love you."

He smiled. Considering those impish smiles he always gave you, this one looked a lot different. It was a smile of… I don't know. Happiness?

"Can you say that again?" He asked, chuckling. "I love you too, (Name). I really do."

With that, he pulled you into another, long, passionate kiss.


	11. Chapter 11: Kidou Yuuto

**Not feeling well?**

**Well, don't worry. I know you don't want me to tire your minds out. That's why I decided to make this short and sweet. (For some reason, this sounds like a commercial show...)**

**Postscript: This isn't laziness, just consideration. Thank you.**

* * *

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Written in the Stars

**Chapter 11: Kidou Yuuto**

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You were always mesmerized by those two, crimson orbs in his loving eyes; yet you've never said so. You've came to love his dreadlocks; but you told him they looked like ropes. And the seven-years-old Kidou Yuuto would blow raspberry at you, saying: "Pumpkin."

Back then, you've always felt offended whenever he called you that; although you shouldn't be, because you were later told that he likes to eat pumpkin pie. Yes, Kidou Yuuto compared you to his favourite food — and you felt stupid for having yourself running back home to cry your eyes out each time the word 'pumpkin' slipped out of his lips.

You remembered those days when you were in middle school, and you were accused of stealing exam papers from the faculty office, just because you were passing by when a teacher happened to check on them. Rumours of you being a thief made everyone shunned themselves away from you, including those girls that you've always deemed as your best friends. You hid yourself in a toilet stall for the whole day — until Kidou shamelessly got himself into women's restroom just to drag you out.

You remembered the first day you've stepped your foot in high school, and everyone seems to be avoiding you because you were just a little smarter than everyone else. Yes, you'd never forget those hateful glances whenever you walked down the hall with a teacher — not to mention how they barked like a dog, 'woof, woof!' each time you passed by their homerooms — because they labelled you as the teachers' lapdog.

You cried and cried and cried, until Kidou brought you to sit over a heart-to-heart chat under a willow tree near a lake. He slipped a paperknife out of his pocket and carved your name and his on the tree trunk as he told you: "One day, we're going to tell our kids that this is where mommy spent her evening being a crybaby."

You were finally able to smile, but you didn't thank him with words — instead, you poked his shoulder and it soon became a game where both of you started to tickle each other, laughing, playfully hitting as you laid on the green, lush grass.

After some time, you landed on him and both of you fell into complete silence; leaving only your eyes and bodies to communicate with each other. He didn't say it, but you knew from his ruby-like eyes, that he, as much as you did, wanted you to kiss him — and you did. You took the weight off your body and pressed your lips against his as he slowly wrapped his arms around your supermodel-like waist.

Both of you drifted into a different world, different dimension, that you lost your track of time. Sun began to hide itself behind the hills and the sky became a layer of different colours: red, blue, purple, yellow and orange. Birds returned to their nest, but not the lovebirds under the willow tree. You snuggled against his chest and he flashed you a sweet smile. "This is where mommy and daddy had their very first kiss," he said, and you pinched his nose.

"Hey," your colleague plucked her fingers before you, snapping you back to reality. "Everyone's leaving. Why are you still staring into space?"

"Oh," you said, blinking your eyes thrice as you looked around your office. It was dark and quiet. "Sorry... I was kind of..."

"Lost in a daydream?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips. "Kidou called — and he said he won't be able to fetch you. Geez, what is he thinking?"

"It's alright, honey," you said, standing up from your chair as you slung your leather workbag on your shoulder. "I can go home by myself."

"Want me to call a cab?"

"No," you told her and looked at your wristwatch. "The bus should be here any minute."

"So what are you waiting for? Go!" She said urgently and pushed you out of the office.

You shrugged and walked to the bus stand. While you were passing by a sweet shop, you felt yourself being followed, but as you turned around to look at the path that you've walked along, you could only see an empty street.

Afraid that someone was shadowing you, you ran towards a cab across the street but suddenly — you were blindfolded and were pulled into a car. You screamed for help, spat and hoped to be released — but there was no answer. You started to shake and get cold sweat, but the person next to you told you that: "Don't worry, everything's gonna be okay."

"Who are you?!" you asked, but he laughed sarcastically and kept driving.

Once he pulled the brake and stopped the car, someone else dragged you out and took off your blindfold. "What are you doing?! Let me go!" You hissed.

The driver and the man who dragged you out looked at each other and laughed. Sure, you didn't get the situation, but it wasn't at all funny — it only made you wonder why those two men kept laughing their lungs out!

"Let's go," the bushy-haired driver said, pulling you by the arm to a willow tree. An old-looking willow tree that looked very familiar to you.

There, under the tree... Stood a man, and he was smirking as he took off his round-shaped sunglasses.

"Yuuto!" you shouted and the driver released you.

"Thanks Fudou," Kidou said, and then looked at the long-haired man. "Thanks Sakuma."

You grabbed Kidou's arm and looked at those two men, your eyes widened as you realized one. Stupid. Thing. "Fu—

Fudou?! Sakuma?!"

"Yes," the bushy-haired driver said. "Fudou, that's my name."

You looked at the grinning, long-haired man and he nodded his head. "Long time no see, (Name)."

"B—but—"

"Miss my Mohawk hair?" Fudou asked, and Sakuma chuckled.

"K—Kind of..." you said, blushing madly as you looked at Kidou. "You said—you're not fetching me, Yuuto-kun."

He smiled sweetly and knelt before you, taking out a small, velvet box out of pocket. He then opened its lid, revealing a diamond ring, with the exactly size of your finger. "(Name)... Will you be my wife?"

You felt your jaw dropped as he tilted his head, waiting for your answer. "Oh—oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Yes—Yuuto—yes!"

He smiled and put the ring around your finger. Fudou and Sakuma clapped and cheered as Kidou stood up to give you a soft peck on your cheek. You jumped onto him, and both of you fell on the lush, green grass under the willow tree.

Ignoring the presence of Sakuma and Fudou, you kissed Kidou on his lips until he was out of breath.

"Hey—easy," Fudou said.

"Well..." Kidou said as he took a very deep breath, with you still sitting on his tummy. "I guess... This is where mommy agreed to marry daddy."

* * *

**Crappy as always!**

**And yes, I know that this is way too short to be considered as a chapter... but hey, reviews will be very much appreciated / kicked.**

**Hey, what?! I thought you said you didn't want me to tire your minds out?! This is consideration, people! Consideration!**


	12. Chapter 12: Surprise!

**First of all, I'd like to say sorry for those who made requests after Kidou Yuuto! I will find time and will to complete them though… Just not now. **

**One more thing, this chapter features a character from the previous chapter but with a whole different plot. Why, you ask? Don't know… Just feel like doing it. **

**P/S: If you love Kiyama Hiroto's voice, look up on search engine for 'Arabesque', a Code Geass: R2 OST (Rolo's character song). I fell on my knees screaming and kept replaying it again and again and again until the replay button broke. (No it didn't. I'm just exaggerating).**

* * *

.

Written in the Stars

**Chapter 12: Fudou Akio (again)**

.

Jet lag. As a journalist, you thought you'd grow accustomed to travelling long distances, rushing here and there with super tight schedules after nearly a year of adequate experience of working with a glossy magazine. You have to admit that it wasn't easy. Every single letter, every word, every phrase that flaunts on every page is your biggest responsibility, so you, in any way at all, wasn't allowed to slack off even for one, whole minute.

Not to mention how you had to work for irregular hours, despite the fact that at the same time, you had to maintain a constantly attractive façade so the person you're interviewing wouldn't turn you down. Gosh… It was really tiring…

…but we're not going to talk about how tiring your job was. It was actually how you started to disbelieve your luck — although you thought you were never the one with good ones.

It all started with a phone call from your senior editor, early in the morning when you had nothing running in your mind except for pancakes, hot chocolate and morning news on TV. She informed you that you needed to do an article about Emilio, a legendary pop star who had been hiding himself since so long time ago that you lost count of the years.

"Rumor has it that he's recently sighted around Rome, Italy," your editor said through the phone, urgently. "The news hasn't yet spread by the media, so we've got to be the first to!"

"Wait, wait," you said, standing up from your couch. "Remember the Bianca cover story that's due tomorrow? The only thing I had was her pet's name! And I'm talking about a small, Chihuahua dog! A goddamn Chihuahua dog named Dolly! What am I gonna write with such teeny-tiny info that I got from those bits of old newspaper?"

"Forget about Bianca," she said briskly, "and her pet Chihuahua doggy. She ain't some big shot or something to turn down the interview session!"

"Three words. I'm. Not. Going."

"Meet you at the airport tomorrow, 9 PM," she said and cut the call, which made you obnoxiously sighed in desperation before throwing your mobile phone to the wall. (Oddly enough, it didn't break apart, or break down, or break up, or long story short: not broken in any way at all).

That was how you arrived in Rome, Italy. The flight schedule had been greatly altered, so your arrival was unexpectedly, awfully late.

But upon the sight of the beautiful city, you knew it was worth it. That was when you thought, _forget about taking a cab. _You decided to walk instead. After all, the cold night air and the beautiful luminous lights along the streets of Rome might be therapeutic for your jet lag.

Your wristwatch showed you that it was two in the morning, yet you were astounded knowing that the city didn't die even though it was far past everyone's bedtime. You sure liked the nightlife there… maybe you could just give a try on one of the nightclubs, or maybe hook up with some Italian guy… Well, maybe as a break from stalking this Emilio guy, you really could, but first! You needed to find your way to the hotel, or else you'll end up sleeping in the streets!

Referring to a map in a brochure, you made your way across the road, dragging your luggage along with you. After what felt like an hour, you threw yourself onto the bench as you failed to find your way to your desired destination, sighing in desperation as you stared at those people passing by. Maybe you should ask someone for the correct direction...

"Excuse me," you said, approaching a tall man who was standing near a lamp-post, fiddling with his mobile phone. "Excuse me, sir. Do you speak English?"

The man looked up at you and nodded his head. "Yeah, I do. Do you need directions or something?"

"Can you show me the way to (Name of Hotel) hotel? I've been wandering along these streets for quite a while…"

"Can't seem to find the way?" he asked, grinning in somewhat, a suspicious manner. "Don't worry; I'll lead you."

"Mille grazie," you said, thanking him in Italian.

"You're welcome," he said, leading the way. "The luggage looks heavy… May I?"

"Oh, thank you again," you smiled and accepted his offer to carry your heavy luggage. After all, your arms and legs had grown awfully sore from all the walking.

"No," he said, holding your luggage tightly. "Thank you."

You were about to open your mouth and ask: what did he thank you for, but in what felt like a millisecond, he dashed away out of your sight, leaving you behind to eat his dust.

…

…

…

That was when you realized…

That you had been scammed all along.

"Friggin' bastard!" You cursed in Japanese, running after the man, who was about to cross the road ahead of you. "Stop! My passport's in there! You—"

You chased after him, however, as you were about to cross the road, you heard a truck coming in your way, honking once… Twice… Thrice…

**HONK! HONK! HOOOOONK!**

"Watch out!" someone shouted.

You squeezed your eyes shut, feeling your body floating in the air before landing onto the hard ground.

"Hey…" you said to yourself, slowly adjusting your blurry sight to the truck ahead of you. "Getting hit by a truck doesn't hurt at all…"

"What are you saying?" a panicked man yelled at you. "Baka—you've almost fucking kill yourself!"

...

It seemed that the yelling man pulled you aside before the truck hit your butt.

"W—what…?"

"Fuck you, I say!"

"The heck is this guy's problem?" you muttered under your breath as you rubbed your head. "Am I not dead?"

"Are you okay, missy?" the truck driver asked worriedly, checking on your scraped arm.

"My luggage!" You shot up and started looking around like a madwoman. "Damn it, he's got away with my luggage!"

"Hey—listen, listen!" The younger guy said, holding your arms to stop you from running across the road again, but you hit him in the face. "LISTEN!"

"Fuck you!" you yelled. "My passport—my money—my laptop—they're all in the luggage! Baka, let me go!"

At some point, the guy lost his temper from trying so hard to compose you down; he released you. "You ain't gonna fucking get your luggage back, you idiot!" he cursed in Japanese, and you froze.

"You can speak Japanese?" you asked in admiration and started to inspect every inch of his face. "Hmmm… You do have some Asian-like figures on your… cute… face…"

The truck driver scratched his head and assumed that you were completely fine… so he drove away, thinking how funny you were.

"Let's go lodge a police report," the guy said considerately, ignoring your statement about his appearance.

"You do look familiar…"

"What else is inside your luggage?" the guy asked, inspecting the expression on your face.

"Hey… Aren't you…" you gasped in awe, flinching an inch away from him. "Aren't you FUDOU AKIO?! The international star footballer?!"

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Don't scream my name here…"

"Oh. My. Gosh. I'm so gonna tell my editor about this!" you said excitedly and groped about yourself for your mobile phone. But soon you remembered that it was in the luggage. "Curses. It's in the freakin' luggage."

Fudou laughed and you fell weak onto the nearest bench. "So it seems like you're stuck with me for a while." He said, winking.

"Why?"

"Because you couldn't possibly find another Japanese footballer around here who's kind enough to offer you a place to stay."

"I'm going to stay in your house?" you asked, your eyes sparkling with excitement. "I'm going to stay in the international star footballer's HOUSE?!"

"Until everything's taken care of, that is," he said. "Just make sure this isn't another scam."

"What?" You asked, twitching your nose.

"It's pretty common, you know. They made it to look like a normal crime scene, but the victim saved was actually the criminal's accomplice…" he said seriously and then smirked playfully as he cupped your chin, "But I believe a beautiful lady like you won't be that much of a threat…"

You pursed your lips and watched as he walked ahead of you, hands in his pockets. "So… It's four in the morning. I won't ask you why you're outside at this hour, but, are you hungry?"

"No…" you said, sighing heavily. "I'm in need of a sleep, that's all."

"Alright. Get in my car, then."

* * *

**I think I have taken a certain liking towards Fudou… **

**Should I write a sequel to this? Perhaps with more (sappy) scenes of you with our Prince of Bench? **


	13. Chapter 13: Amemiya Taiyou

**For some reason, I'm having fun writing this...**

**So here's another chapter. I'll do a sequel for Fudou Akio later, okay? Since I've got an idea for Taiyou, I thought it'd be better if I write it down first, or else I'm gonna forget everything. **

**That's me for you! I'm so forgetful!**

* * *

.

Written in the Stars

**Chapter 13: Amemiya Taiyou **

**.**

It's morning. But it it's not just any morning. It's Oshogatsu; Japanese New Year. But once again, it's not just any New Year. You were going to celebrate Oshogatsu with your as-bright-as-sunshine best friend a.k.a. long-term crush, Amemiya Taiyou, so unlike the previous celebrations in the previous years, you actually had to wake up a few hours earlier than anyone else to make a complete transformation of yourself from a typical airheaded girl to a supermodel.

Well, it was your New Year's resolution to constantly maintain your image... especially when you had to be with Taiyou.

"Yosh!" you said to yourself energetically, jumping off your queen-sized bed. "Road to capturing Taiyou's heart will not be easy! So... Today I'm going to wear a kimono!"

Taiyou had surely given so much influence into your life, that you felt it turned for more than 360 degrees from how it used to be. Let's not talk about major ones... You never had a thought in your head to clad yourself in a kimono before. Well, let's consider it typical for a growing up girl like you.

So, long story short: You took a warm bath. Then, you rummaged in your wardrobe and pulled out a kimono with sheer orange colour and flower seams on the sleeves and the skirt. Standing before a full-length mirror, you wrapped your body with a piece of juban (white cotton top and skirt) and stared at your reflection in the mirror.

...

...

...

...

"What should I wear next?"

That kind of spoiled everything for you. You actually wasted fifteen minutes to decide what you'd wear on top of the juban, ten minutes to try on the cri-sugata (a collar), five minutes to examine yourself in the full-length mirror and sixty-two seconds thinking if anyone had 'How to Wear Kimono for Dummies' book for you to refer.

Without realizing it yourself, the time was already 8 in the morning... and Taiyou promised to come over at half-past 8, which meant you had exactly...

Well, 29 minutes and 59 seconds from now to get ready before he came barging into your room.

"Oh my God—what do I do?" you broke into cold sweat and poked your head through your half-opened door. "Okaasan! Can you help me with my kimono?"

There was a brief silence before your mother's voice echoed through the hall. "I'm boiling rice cakes! Get someone else, okay?"

You pursed your lips. Did your mother forget that you were the only daughter in the family? Who could you ask help from, if it wasn't her, herself!

Sighing heavily, you put on the kimono on top of the juban and once again... You wasted more time to think of what you should do next. You were sure a dummy... Or you weren't. Wearing kimono's surely mind-blowing!

As you absentmindedly fiddled with the datejime belt, Taiyou jumped into your room, screaming out your name, making you accidentally dropped it onto the floor. "(Name)! Let's go get some otoshidama(s)!"

*Otoshidama is money in packets called pochibukuro, which is similar to Chinese red envelop or Scottish handsel. It's usually given to children on Oshogatsu.

"Geez! Taiyou!" you yelled at him, your cheeks went deep red. "I'm not even dressed!"

"Oh," he said, smiling cheerfully without even a hint of regret. "Lucky!"

You picked up the datejime belt and slapped him on his face with it, although you knew that according to the laws of Physics, that wouldn't leave much impact on him. "Get out of here!"

"Should I? How long are you gonna stand there and play with that freakin' belt?" he asked, a smirk forming on his face. "Ne, ne. (Name)-chan doesn't know how to wear kimono, is that it?"

"H—how long have you been watching?" you asked, your blush darkening when you realized that you forgot to pull the curtains.

"Well, hmm..." he said, rubbing his chin as he pretended to think hard. "'Road to capturing Taiyou's heart will not be easy?' Geez, how are you gonna do that when you don't even know how to wear kimono!"

"Why did you—okay no more wasting time, (Name)!" you said, anger building up inside you, ready to spill out lavas on Taiyou's face. "Time... Is... Gold."

"Yeah," Taiyou said, agreeing. "So get on with it, (Name)-chan! We're gonna collect as many otoshidama(s) as possible!"

You sighed again. "Is okaasan done boiling rice cakes?"

"No need to bother okaasan," he said, shifting closer to you and wrapped his arms around your waist.

You flinched a bit and closed your eyes. _Is he... Going to do it... Here? Isn't it a little too soon?_ You thought, conjuring up images of him kissing you on your lips.

"Now that you've worn the kimono," he said, straightening your juban and kimono. "Make sure the back seam is centred."

You opened your left eye and pouted in disappointment. Wasn't he going to kiss you or something?

"Now... Pull it up so it ends at your ankle," he told you, pulling your kimono upwards. "Then only you can wrap the koshi himo belt around your waist, leaving the overlapping fabric below visible."

You felt as if your cheeks fell out of place as you felt his hands roamed around your waist, carefully tying up the koshi himo belt. What kind of a girl were you, having a boy to tell you how to wear a kimono?!

"How do you know so much about wearing kimono?" you asked in admiration, looking into the boys' eyes that are focused on the koshi himo belt around your slender waist.

"How? I sort of know how whenever I see girls in kimonos." He said absentmindedly, tying up the datejime belt on top of the koshi himo belt.

"So you're always checking out on girls in kimonos, are you?" you snarled and he chuckled.

"One of them being my mom."

"Nitwit," you murmured. "Why are you helping me, Taiyou?"

"Why, is this an interview session?" he asked, puckering his eyebrows. "Why I help you doesn't matter now, (Name)-chan. But I can tell you that it's because I want to help you on the road to capture my heart."

You frowned and hid your face in your palms in embarrassment. One, he saw you with only the juban on. Two, he knew you didn't know how to wear kimono. Three, he knew how to, better than you did and helped you to wear it. Four, he knew that you wore kimono to capture his heart. Five, he helped you with a reason to assist you on capturing his own heart. How embarrassing could it be?

"You're so readable, (Name)-chan," he said, fastening the obi makura.

"Probably because you watched me just now to begin with!"

"Not really. Even with this kimono on, you're so see-through," he said, giving a soft peck on your forehead.

You felt your heart skipped a beat. If only it wasn't Oshogatsu, he'd probably drained your will to stay alive...

"Now... Aren't you beautiful now, (Name)-chan?" he said, turning you around to face the mirror. "You always are..."

You felt tears stung your eyes as you looked into the image that flaunted on the mirror that stood before you. One, for the first time in your life, you were wearing a kimono. Two, you looked so beautiful in it, like an angel descended from heaven. Three, your loved one told you that you looked beautiful now, and you always were. Four... You saw Taiyou standing so close behind you, putting his arms around your small waist.

"Wipe away your tear, love," he whispered, and you turned to face the boy. "It's the beginning of the year... Why would you start it off by crying?"

"No..." you said, rubbing your eyes with the back of your hand, sniffing once, twice and thrice. "I'm just too happy I can't express it in any other way, Taiyou. Thank you..."

He leaned in closer to you and in just a split second, his lips found yours, sparks burst in your tummy like fireworks display, which made you feel like it was a beginning to something. He pressed himself against you, and you slipped your fingers into his hair, gently going with the course of his soft lips. You were never a good kisser, or a bold one either, but you didn't know what had gotten into you. You casually slipped your tongue into his and he gave his best to impress you.

Yes... It was a beginning to something. What would it be? At the moment, it doesn't matter. As long as you've accomplished one of your New Year resolutions.

* * *

**It's March... but it's never too late for Oshogatsu! Although I don't know how. **

**Anyway, thank you for reading!**


	14. Chapter 14: Sequel!

**This is a sequel for Chapter 12, so if you haven't read it yet, feel free to do so… or else this story won't work out.**

**But, before you start reading, I have something of great importance to tell you.**

**This story (chapter 14) is rated M, because there are hints of excessive alcohol use. Other than that, everything is clean. Well, rated T kind of clean. **

**Whatever it is, please read at your own risk. **

* * *

.

Written in the Stars

**Chapter 14: Fudou Akio (Sequel)**

**.**

Waking up to the smell of toasts and roasted coffee beans, you realized that you had been awfully hungry since last night. Yes, awfully, but at the same time you wanted to crash so badly. It was a tough situation for you… being hungry and sleepy and can't decide whether to eat first or to sleep first.

Well, whatever the answer was, you knew you've already made the wrong decision. Your stomach grumbled and growled, protesting against your mind's consent, like a grumpy old man who couldn't get a seat in the train.

The comforter felt so good on your skin, as if it was caressing you affectionately, protecting you from the cold morning air that smelled like the rain. You wanted to stay in bed and laze around some more, but you had two things that bugged you a lot — hunger and Emilio.

**Knock. Knock. **

You shifted your gaze from the empty space to the door that stood before the bed. Oh God, your eyes were so heavy; sleepiness just wouldn't set you free. "Come in," you said.

"Housekeeping," Fudou said jokingly, and you chuckled softly under your breath. "Wake up, lazy bum; move your ass out of my bed. Breakfast's ready."

You blew your fringes and sighed. It wasn't really a day for you to laze around. You had one week to probe Emilio, minus two days because the altered flight schedule took you one day to reach Italy, and you had taken the whole day yesterday to lodge police report on robbery and your missing passport.

Five days left to shadow the target. Five days left… If only had been more careful, things wouldn't turn out to be this way. Well, I guess it can't be helped, you know. Like the old folks used to say, there's no use crying over spilt milk. Instead, have your pet cat to lick it clean.

You lazily got up from your bed and headed to the kitchen with him tailing you behind. He had a medium-sized kitchen, with big windows overlooking the colonial buildings outside, and a few pots of green plants with trailing, waxy leaves aligned along the pane.

Countertops were arranged against the wall, forming the 'U' shape with the sink in the middle. Separating the kitchen from the hall was a bar, wine glasses hanging on its horizontal pole, and three high stools lining up across the kitchen floor. On top of it was a basket of waxed fruits that looked so inviting, especially the oranges.

Even from the sight of the tip-top condition of his kitchen, you knew that he didn't use that part of his house very frequently. Being a busy man, maybe he'd just pass by the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee before dashing off to work.

You looked at the toasts and the mugs of coffee on the bar, and then looked at the tall footballer again. He crossed his arms across his chest and said, "Don't complain. It's nice enough of me to make you these."

"I wanted to say thank you," you said awkwardly, sitting on the high stool, and he settled down beside you.

"So," he said, taking a sip on his steamy coffee, "Are you free later? Maybe tonight?"

"Not really. Rumor has it that Emilio is a regular in one of the nightclubs around here," you told him as you took a bite on the crunchy toast. "So I'm gonna check Claire de Lune out."

At the mention of the famous nightclub, Fudou uneasily shifted in his seat. "You're gonna go alone?"

"Unless some gentleman agrees to come along," you said teasingly, "You know, to shield the princess from danger."

"You've already gotten yourself in danger by staying here with me," he said, and you laughed.

"Well, I'm not afraid," you said seductively, poking his firm chest with your index finger, softly teasing his collar bone.

"You'll be sorry," he told you and lifted you off your feet, heading to his room.

Should you really be sorry, though? Maybe you could have some fun with him before getting ready for tonight's big mission.

* * *

You and Fudou entered the place shone with neon lights, with music blaring through the big stereos placed who knows where in the nightclub, and people danced wildly without a care in the world.

Truth to be told, you didn't like the place.

You hated every single thing about it. It was awfully noisy and stuffy inside, with the heavy smells of smoke and perfume — the place was just too provocative for an innocent, good girl like you. You couldn't deny the feelings of the little girl deep inside you, wanting to break free from the suffocating atmosphere that started to give you migraine.

Well, you were really an innocent good girl, apart from what you did with Fudou earlier in the morning. You were more like a beginner, but he seemed to like it more that way. Probably because he could crush you into pieces without much effort.

"Is he around?" Fudou asked, looking around the packed dance floor.

You stared at everyone in the club, expecting Emilio to be one of them, but you just couldn't keep focused. The music and the smell mixed up in your brain that your thinking and observing skills were completely interrupted, like the sudden cutting in of advertisement on TV when a movie was about to reach its climax.

"No," you said, sighing heavily. "Four days left… I'm so doomed."

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Fudou said coaxingly, slipping his arm around your thin waist.

Although he was trying his best to lighten up the dark mood, he still had that mocking smirk on his face, as if laughing at the idiotic failure, in which, well, the idiotic failure was you.

You took a deep breath of the air that smelled like rotten grapes and released a sigh one more time. You really had no strength, or patience, or temperance left in your soul. You just wanted to jump onto the bar and shout, 'shut the fuck up, freaks!' But instead of doing so, you tugged on Fudou's jacket to lessen your anger.

"Maybe a drink a two to cheer you up?" he asked.

You nodded your head weakly and he brought you to the bar. Well, you were never one of those bastard drunkards (bastard and drunkard, they rhyme!), and will never be… but yeah, maybe a drink or two might really cheer you up, since Fudou here couldn't really do the job.

You didn't really pay attention when he ordered for the drinks. Your mind went to the sky to seek for fate and blame it all on him as you grabbed three glasses and licked all of them clean.

"H—hey," Fudou said in annoyance, since you've drank three glasses, one being his, and asked for another glass from the bartender.

Yup, offering you the drinks was really a bad idea, and Fudou couldn't help but to regret himself from doing so. And no, no fourth glass for you, lady.

The neon colors started to merge with each other, forming a pattern of swirling eye-blinding lights. Your head felt heavy, but light at the same time, and you could've sworn that you've never felt that way before. To be free, floating in midair, drifting away like the wind…

"(Name), let's go home," he said worriedly and pulled you up. "I think someone's watching us."

You clung onto him as he slowly walked you to his car. You didn't really understand what was going on, but you obeyed his orders all the same.

**A/N: "Time skip!" says the lazy writer.**

* * *

On the fifth morning in Italy, you lazed around in the living hall, scrolling down a page on the net, searching for the latest gossips of celebrities and hoping to see one about Emilio.

You sighed heavily and reached for Fudou's phone before punching in your editor's number. You had to come clean about it… You had to tell her that you failed your mission, and you're coming home.

"Hey," you said as she picked up the phone. "I can't find him…"

"(Name)!" she shouted, and you had to pull the phone away from your ear. "Hey, forget about him! I say, forget about Emilio!"

"W—Why?" you asked, frowning. Why was she so excited? You were thinking that you would get yelled at for wasting the company's money for nothing.

"The head manager was checking on celeb gossips earlier in the morning," she said, chuckling. "You know the usual… Guess what she saw?"

"Emilio?"

"No, silly! Stop pretending, already! There are pictures of you and the international footballer all over the internet! And—and—on the latest magazines, too! Damn, why didn't you tell me that—hey… Don't tell me it's his phone that you're using?"

You blinked your eyes thrice and slapped yourself to make sure it wasn't a dream. There. Were. Pictures. Of you. And Fudou. Going around…

"Are you guys dating?!"

"Don't yell, baka!" you snarled and she squealed, absolutely fangirling. "He's just helping me, nothing else!"

"Helping? Well, maybe you should check out what the paparazzi had stolen, yo. Is that what you call helping?"

You stared at the page flaunted on Fudou's laptop's screen and clicked on home to see the latest gossips. True enough, there was a big, larger than life, picture of you tugging on his jacket scandalously like a celebrity couple.

There were more pictures below and you observed each of them intently as you felt heat crept up your face. Most of them were of you clinging to him, his arms around your waist, as if showing the world that Fudou Akio had some kind of serious relationship with the famous Lusterlicious column writer.

"No… This can't be…" you said, gasping for air.

"Oh yes it can."

You nervously waved the papers in your face and started to pace back and forth in the living hall. Now, what would you do? Will you get chased by reporters… and paparazzi?

As you tried to calm yourself down, you heard noises coming from outside of the door, so you poked your head through it to see what was happening outside. Little did you know, Fudou was arguing with a girl, supposedly a reporter from gossip TV shows, and you had shown her that you lived with him!

Fudou stared at you, and you stared at him.

"Aww," the reporter said, and the girl beside her snapped a picture, while the other one scribbled something in her notepad. "Staring at each other, isn't that cute?"

Fudou sighed and pushed you inside as he entered. "I think you've got enough information," he said to the reporter, and you looked at him questioningly.

"What did you say to them?" you asked curiously, staring into his greenish eyes.

He closed the door tight and the girl snapped another picture, but he didn't try to stop it. As you locked the door tight, Fudou shifted closer to you, making your back touch the wall behind you.

"I told them," the tall footballer said, "that we're dating."

You tried to not lose your control by taking a deep breath. But it seemed that you couldn't… Instead of calming down, you tugged on his shirt and buried your face in his chest in embarrassment.

Well, how could you calm down, anyway, when you were taking a deep breath, you were actually breathing in his scent? The thought of it made your legs wobbled.

"Wanna stay here a little longer?" he whispered, his lips were just centimeters away from yours.

You squeezed your eyes tight and let him lead you into another time, another world, another dimension, where nothing else matters but his love to you. I have to say, that's actually how you started to disbelieve your luck… Well, it seems that behind bad ones, lies the good ones!

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**Long. Crappy. Nope, not being humble. It's really crappy. Excuse the mistakes I've made, anyway…**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Until next time, bye-bye!**


	15. Chapter 15: Hakuryuu

_"ONEE-CHAAAAN! *hugs your legs* Write a llleeeemoonnnnnhhhh :DDD I wanna feel the sourness :D  
Lemonade... lemon. get it? Oh nvm. I want to enjoy the lemon- I want it to be smokin hot and smeexxeeehhhh hahaha."_

**If you're wondering, that's HALF of the PM that my YOUNGER sister (Nakamura Sachiyo) sent to me. Lemons? I've never thought of writing one myself… but yeah, I'm a 'good' onee-chan, so… /coughs/**

**Anyway, since this chapter contains sourness of lemonade, I decided to make it short, or else your intestines will get twisted. **

**By the way, I decided to change (Name) that I always used to (f/n) (l/n) starting from now. So, get used to it.**

**WARNING: This chapter is RATED M. Read at your own risk of getting cardiac arrest.**

**YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!**

**Enjoy your lemonade, pervy imouto.**

* * *

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Written in the Stars

**Chapter 15: Hakuryuu**

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* * *

Being the president of an athletic club isn't always easy. Especially when it's Tennis Club that we're talking about. What's more, the club managers were good-for-nothing they never show up even once for club meetings.

Holy Jupiter, you had to handle everything, from the attendance of the members to the sports equipments to the cleanliness of the tennis court! What were you, a scullery maid?

"Hey, (f/n)," Kana, your friend, said as she tossed her dirty clothing onto the floor. "My mom's getting fussier nowadays. Especially when the big examination's drawing near…"

You shot Kana a questioning look as you entered the shower room. "What's with that? It's like, six months away!"

"I know right. But knowing my mom…" From the shower room next to yours, you heard her desperate sigh as she spun the tap. "I can't stay back late anymore, (f/n)."

"That's alright," you said, smearing shampoo all over your head. "As long as you attend meetings… I don't see any problems about that."

"But I'm worried about you, (f/n)," she said.

"Worried? Why, exactly? It's so not like Kana to worry about people, you know."

"(f/n)… I heard from the girls that someone from our class stays back late every Tuesday just to tape a video of you showering."

You frowned and rinsed your hair thoroughly in silence, trying to digest Kana's words. She isn't joking, or is she?

"Are you sure? Why don't they tell me if there's really a pervert trying to… Well."

"I'm sure I heard them right," she said. "And I'm sure they have their own reasons for not telling you."

_Someone from our class, huh… _You thought hard. _Who could that bastard be?_

Just as you browsed through your head for the faces of boys in your class… You heard a familiar phone ringing tone coming from outside of the shower room.

"Oh shit," Kana cursed and rushed outside with her hair still smeared with shampoo, carefully taking her cell phone to her ear. "Hey, mom."

_Oh dear_, you thought.

"Alright…" she said regretfully. "I get it, mom. Okay. Alright. Yeah, I'm almost done. Yeah. Alright. Bye."

"Is everything okay?"

"Grandma's sick," she said. "Sorry, (f/n). Gotta go. I'll see ya tomorrow, buddy… And, please. Take care."

"See ya, dude."

Wrapping her head with towel, she made her leave, although her hair was still soapy from the shampoo smeared all over her head that she didn't get to rinse off.

Well, that wasn't the strangest thing you've ever seen if you're talking about Yoshiki Kana. Maybe it was one way to tell her mother how busy she was.

Whoopie-doo. You were all alone now.

Sighing heavily, you dried your hair with towel and headed to your personal locker in the girls' changing room (which is attached with the shower rooms). "Maybe I should get myself a boyfriend, huh… Ah—ah-choo!"

Damn, it was cold. You wondered if it was going to snow earlier than expected…

"What the," you said as you looked into your locker.

Realizing that the locker rack was empty, you leapt back in surprise. "What the heck?!" you yelled as you rummaged in its empty space. "What the heck? What the heck? WHERE ARE MY CLOTHES?! You don't say—my dirty clothes are gone too?!"

You bit your lower lips, trying to muster your strength. No, you could've sworn that you had some clean t-shirts kept inside your locker. You were sure of it! YOU WERE SURE THAT YOU DID!

"Looking for something?" a familiar voice asked, coming from behind you.

You spun around, finding your ponytailed classmate Hakuryuu, standing by the bench, larger than life, with your panties hanging from his index finger.

"Ha—Hakuryuu!"

"What's wrong? Isn't this what you're looking for, (f/n)?" he asked, a smirk starting to form on his face.

You took a deep breath and tried to snatch it away from him, but he put his hand high in the thin air. Too high to reach for, even when you were tip-toeing.

"So it's you!" you hissed, backing off as you felt your breasts pressing against his torso.

"It's me, what?" he asked and advanced towards you until you're trapped between him and the wall. "It's me, what, (f/n)…?"

Hakuryuu was getting creepy. He was getting creepy! He spoke in a low tone, so low that it shook! It shook as if he was trying hard to hold back himself from peeling the towel off your bare body!

He pressed himself against you, with nothing to separate your body from his but his clothes and a piece of towel around your body.

You squeezed your eyes shut as you felt a warm hand that started to roam underneath your towel, gently caressing your slender thigh.

He moaned as he pushed his hands upwards to catch your warm breast, and you squirmed under his tight hold.

"Ha—kuryuu!" you squealed as he teased the area around your nipple. "Stop it… Stop it! Goodness gracious!"

"Oh God…" he moaned again, grinding himself against you.

You let out a soft squeal as you felt something hard jabbing you in your abdomen. Beads of sweat started to form on your forehead as you struggled to break free from his hold.

"Stop fuckin' trying," he whispered angrily, his warm breath brushing against your neck. "I'm not letting you go until I'm done."

Grabbing both of your wrists, he caught you into a long, wild kiss, with him first jabbing his wet tongue into your mouth, his saliva trickling down to your neck.

Oh dear… The boy was lusty.

You moaned and he bit your lips. "Ba—Baka! It hurts!"

Ignoring your protests, he threw you onto the cold, hard floor and peeled the towel off your body and started to suck on your nipple, which was getting hard. Licking, biting and sucking weren't enough to satisfy him, so he poked his finger into you, making you flinch in pain.

"You… You—idiot," you said between moans. "I should've—aaaaughh—known…!"

"Shhh," he said and licked his finger. "It's time to start the game, (f/n)."

"Count me out!"

"Nu-uh, you're not going anywhere," he smirked, stripping himself off his clothes, revealing his worked-out body to you.

Hakuryuu hated to procrastinate. He liked everything to be done fast… and nasty.

He pounced onto you and shoved his member into you without your consent. Without waiting for you to grow accustomed to his size, he thrust his glory in and out, getting faster and faster each minute that passed by, literally taking your breath away.

"Heavens…" you muttered, sweat trickling down your forehead. "Hakur—yuu… You're big."

"Damn it… Damn it," he moaned louder, enjoying the heat of the moment as your warm hole clumped around his member. "I'm getting close…!"

"No…! Stop—it! Stop it, Hakuryuu!" you begged.

You clung onto him and he grinded himself harder against you. Heat started to rise to your bodies, sweat made your skins slippery, making it easier for Hakuryuu to slip himself into you, tearing you apart into pieces.

Your head spun wildly, as wild as how Hakuryuu could get when he got to touch you. Sparks of electricity danced frenziedly in your tummy, making the pain so suffocating and unbearable.

After some time, he finally loosened his tight hold of you, and the floor was extremely wet from the massive spilling of your juice mixed with his. He threw himself next to you, his drained eyes locking with yours.

"(f/n)…" he said, panting for air.

"Hakuryuu… My body's… Sore…"

"You're out of this world, (f/n)," he smiled, wrapping his jacket around your body.

And you, no matter how hard you tried to not fall asleep… Your eyes grew heavier and heavier… Without realizing it yourself, everything went black and you started to snore softly in Hakuryuu's embrace.

* * *

**Whoops. Sorry if it's too crappy for your liking. Gosh, I told you I'm not good at writing lemons… THERE YOU GO, PERVY SISTAH!**

**Well, whatever it is, there's one thing that I want to tell you.**

**It's not Hakuryuu who taped a video of you showering. **

**I repeat, IT'S NOT HIM!**

**Yes, if you want to find out who that bastard is… Please wait for the next chapter. Muahahaha. **

**Well, until next time! No flames, please.**

**Bye-bye.**


	16. Chapter 16: Yukimura Hyouga

**Holy Mercury. I got ten reviews for my first lemon. **

**To PandaPlushie1: did you read my mind or something? Whatever it is, you'll like this chapter. **

**To Lotus Sword, Shina Takumi and SapphireSpade: my sister finally admits that she requested the lemon. I won the case, yes!**

**Note: For those who haven't read Chapter 15, you may not gain full understanding on this chapter.**

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Written in the Stars

**Chapter 16: Yukimura Hyouga**

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You were walking down the school hallway towards your locker when someone came and gave an urgent tap on your right shoulder. It was Friday; Kana was out early to see her cousin, no club meetings on such days, no group tasks so far… You wondered why someone would be bothered to look for you.

"(F/n)," the boy said nervously as you spun around.

"Ah," you smiled, hugging your books tightly against your bosom. "Yukimura-san."

"(F/n)…" he said your name again, as if it could calm his nervousness down by doing so. "Are you okay, so far?"

You pursed your lips in wonder and puckered your brows questioningly. _He couldn't have possibly found out about me and Hakuryuu, could he?_ "What's wrong? Wanna talk about it?"

Yukimura opened his mouth to say something, but you were pulled behind before he could say anything.

A tall figure stood firmly between you and him, and you had to bend a little to the left to see Hakuryuu and the blue-haired boy Yukimura staring at each other as if ready to swallow each other in a single gulp.

They stayed in that position for a while before you plucked your fingers in their faces with a soft; yet clear 'plak', breaking their eye-contact. They shifted their gazes off each other and looked at you, both faces slowly softening.

"What's up with that?" you asked, leaning back a little as you looked intently into those two pairs of revengeful eyes.

You were not sure if they were cursing each other through thought transference, or just wanted to see who would lose the game by blinking his eyes first.

Well, whatever it was. Just by looking at their faces was enough to tell you that they were having a silent argument.

"Meet me at See You Latte," Yukimura said before turning on his heels. "Be there at eight."

You looked at him as he walked off and nodded your head. From the corner of your eyes, you saw Hakuryuu clenching his fists as he eyed the blue-haired boy disappearing around the corner.

He pulled your arm and you faced him. "(F/n)," he said under his breath, as if threatening you. "You can't see him tonight."

You shot the platinum-haired boy a questioning look. After the incident on that Tuesday evening, you couldn't believe it yourself that both of you started to get along very well. "Why not?"

Hakuryuu took a deep breath and relaxed his aching, tensed shoulders. "Yukimura."

"What's up his butt?"

"He's the one who tapes you showering, (F/n)."

You felt a lump forming in your throat. Did you mishear him or something? _Yukimura was the peeping Tom? But isn't it Hakuryuu who came in and fucked you? _

What the heck. Everything didn't make sense.

"Holy Saturn," you said to the air, hugging your books tighter as you felt your body getting tenser.

"That's the truth," Hakuryuu said. "You shouldn't really go alone. It'll only make matters worse."

You casually nodded your head as both of you went to your locker in utter silence. After all those nasty things Hakuryuu had done to you, you weren't so sure of his real intention — whether he was so obsessed with you, or it was a way for him to protect you.

Whatever it was Hakuryuu's trying to do… Even if he just accused his friend for videotaping you showering, you felt the urge to talk to Yukimura to make things clear. You know what they say to listen to both sides, and don't be a broken scale?

What was Hakuryuu's real intention? And what was Yukimura's?

You were curious to know.

Curiosity kills the cat… but you know better than that.

You aren't a cat.

"I'll send you home," Hakuryuu said, and you agreed.

For the time being, it felt like the best way for you to listen to what Hakuryuu wanted you to do… On the surface, at least.

* * *

When Hakuryuu made sure you reached home safely, giving you a soft peck on your forehead and told you to look after yourself, your thought was _wow. How overprotective can Hakuryuu get?_

You put up that innocent smile on your face and nodded your head like a good little girl until he was satisfied enough to head back home. It was nice of Hakuryuu to be so concerned about you…

But you couldn't help but to feel like a bird in a cage.

Trapped when you were supposed to fly freely in the air.

You, positive enough that he was gone, went back down to the streets and headed in the opposite direction. Glancing at your wristwatch that showed you the time that was getting to half-past seven, you sped up your pace.

Sun began to hide herself behind the hills and the darkness started to loom around triumphantly. Far in distance, you saw the most renowned coffee shop in the town; the signboard gleamed in red and orange colors: See You Latte.

_Quite punny for the name of a shop_, you thought.

You've always liked the place. From those various drinks it could offer to the interior decors to the music that it always had playing on its radio. Something about it made you feel attached to it, and you remembered how you came in there over cheerful chats with your best friend Kana.

Never thought of all places, you would discuss over a serious matter at See You Latte.

Entering the place, you saw Yukimura sitting far at the edge of the windows overlooking the flower garden outside, checking on his mobile phone from time to time.

You approached the table and took the weight off your feet as you settled yourself on the armchair. He looked at you, and you, thinking that the boy who peeped on you was right before you; it sent shivers down your spine.

"Am I late?" you asked, and he leaned against the backrest.

"No," he said, shaking his head from side to side. "Did Hakuryuu tell you anything? By any chance…"

"Nothing so far," you lied.

"(F/n)…" His face softened as he heard you. "I know what happened. I know everything what's happening between you and Hakuryuu."

You felt your shoulders tensing up as Yukimura placed his hand on top of yours as he talked. "W—who told you about that?" you stuttered, heat creeping up your already red-colored tinted cheeks.

He pursed his lips and looked away, avoiding your eyes. "I guess… I have to tell you the truth, (F/n)," he said. "The truth is… I like you. No—it's more than that. It's very hard to explain—I get a splitting headache just by thinking about it."

You tried to stay composed.

"I have some recordings of you…" he admitted under his breath, his cheeks turning to the color of very deep red. "…In the shower room."

Silence took over the place as both of you avoided each other's gazes, feet shuffling in the tensed and nervous air.

"And—" he said, hesitating. "It was my fault that he… you know, harassed you."

You flinched in your seat. "Why? What does it have to do with you?"

"We kind of watched those videos together," he said. "And he couldn't hold himself back when he saw you slipping your clothes off…"

Fear and embarrassment crept up from your stomach and you rose from its reflex response. SLAP!

Yukimura's cheek went red with traces of five fingers on it. Realizing what you had just done, you squirmed. "I—I'm… I'm sorry!" you said, bowing once, twice and thrice regretfully. "I'm terribly sorry, Yukimura-san!"

Still, he turned his face away. "It's… Okay. It's my fault, anyway."

You sunk into your seat and Yukimura looked at you again, uncertainty written all over his eyes. It wasn't so visible, but you could sense its presence.

Tears stung your eyes and you started crying. Two boys… and they were from your class. You just couldn't put up with that anymore.

"I'm sorry, (F/n)," Yukimura said, gently caressing the back of your hand. "I'm willing to take full responsibility of my actions."

You looked down to your feet, tears still streaming down your face.

"From now on… You are my girlfriend. And I shall protect you from any danger," he pledged to you. "I promise, (F/n)."

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**Isn't this chapter a bit too blah?**

**Well, you have my apology. I just wanted all of you to know who the bastard peeping Tom was and why Hakuryuu suddenly 'attacked' you in the last chapter. **

**Oh. I'm thinking about doing another Yukimura fic since this one isn't a great shake. **

**Why Yukimura?**

**BECAUSE HE'S MY BABY BOO, I'M GONNA GIVE HIM A BEAR HUG NOW! YUKIMURAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!**

**Ne, I want to request a birthday fic, please! /tears up/ An OCxCharacter, if possible. **


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